Over the Years
by Enula
Summary: Ran has graduated high school and went to college. Ten years pass and Conan still hasn't gotten an antidote. So he visits Ran and even though he's not Shinichi, can he still find romance with her while being Conan?
1. Prologue

**__**

Over the Years

Prologue

When you're first born, you claim an identity. Whether it was your true identity or not is a whole different story. You grow up believing what you are told and just happen to have the built-in skills to work around that.

When you're first born, you have this natural instinct that lets you know certain facts, like who your mother is. People forget quickly, however, and will claim another woman as their mother if they live with her long enough. It's not always right, but it's not always wrong, either.

Over time, we all have to accept who and what we are, even if it means letting go of something that used to mean the world to us.

Like our true identity.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

"Tousan, have you seen my backpack?"

"Relax, Ran, it's probably just in your room somewhere."

"I already checked there dozens of times!"

"Calm down…why do you need it anyway? It's not like you're gonna need it to carry books or anything."

Ran stood up quickly from having looked under the couch, facing Sonoko with a scowl, "It just so happens that I have money in my bag! Sonoko, if we keep to our plans on going out after graduation, I need some cash."

"Oh…" was Sonoko's low response, her light eyes wandering down, "I really don't know how you could misplace it, Ran, but there's only so many places to hide it."

"I didn't _hide _it."

Just then, they heard a small chuckle coming from the kitchen, followed by a young boy's voice, "Ran-nësan, I found it."

Smiling quickly, Ran rushed into the kitchen to find Conan standing on top of one of the kitchen chairs by the stove. He was holding the pans handle with one hand, grasping a spatula in the other to flip the pancakes. He was dressed in his usual school uniform, cladding a small apron around his torso and blue slippers on his feet.

Her eyes wondered over to her backpack that he had sitting on the kitchen table. Feeling relieved, she hugged the bag to her quickly before unzipping one of the bottom pouches, finding a small stack of money rolled up inside.

She let out a breath of relief, "Arigatou, Conan-kun. Where did you find it?" She grabbed her money and stuck it in the pocket of her skirt, walking over beside him to see how he was doing on the pancakes. Ran sniffed in deeply, loving the aroma of breakfast. The pancakes looked golden-brown; perfectly round circles of delicacy.

Conan looked over to her, his eyes a little dull from her oblivious stupidity, "It's been sitting on the table all morning."

"Huh?" Ran questioned, putting her index finger to her chin in thought. Her eyes brightened when she realized, however, blushing at the same time, "Oh yeah! I remember putting it there last night so I wouldn't forget where it was. Heh, silly me…"

A small sweat drop formed on the side of Conan's face as he grabbed a plate and plopped the pancakes onto it, _'Good job, Ran…it worked out real well for you.'_

"Ran, come _on_!" Sonoko complained, throwing her arms out in frustration. She wore her dirty blonde hair down to her shoulders as usual, wearing a dark blue hair band.

"Do you really wanna be late for graduation?"

"Of course not!" Ran contradicted, grabbing one of Conan's pancakes as she made her way to the front door, sliding off her slippers so she could change into her tennis shoes. She stuck the pancake in her mouth and held it steady with her teeth as she jumped around in a hurry, trying to push her foot in her shoe without untying the laces.

She finally succeeded, jogging out the door behind Sonoko. She bit the piece off she had held in her mouth, screaming back inside, "Ja ne, Tousan, thanks for the breakfast, Conan-kun!"

And then the door was shut.

Conan sighed at their rush, feeling a little left out. Well…more than a little. He felt left out completely. It was _supposed _to be his graduation, too.

He hopped off the chair and took off his apron, hanging it over the back of another chair. He reached up to grab the plate of pancakes he was hoping Ran and Sonoko would have more time to enjoy. Instead, the young detective was stuck with Ran's father, who looked quite grumpy as he sat at the table reading the newspaper. A cup of coffee was in front of him, but it had long been cooled off, steam no longer rising from the mug.

Conan realized that the detective hadn't said a word all morning, eyeing him cautiously as he set the pancakes down in the middle of the table. He took a seat, serving himself a couple pancakes and then layering them with a load of syrup.

His bright blue eyes looked to the man again from behind thick glasses, wincing when the only sound was that of the paper snapping when he turned a page.

"Mou…Mouri-ojisan?" He was answered with another snap of the paper, "Something wrong?"

Kogorou simply grunted.

Conan narrowed his eyes at him from the side, '_What's his problem? I'm the one that should be in a bad mood. I would have graduated high school today! Instead, I'm stuck with going to elementary school for half a day and spending the rest with him. Maybe he'll—'_

His thoughts her interrupted when he finally heard Kogorou mumble something; "Can't believe I'm stuck with you now…"

__

'Oh, so he feels the same way…'

"I might not be around much today," Conan informed him, taking a large bite of his food, "I'm going to hang out with my friends later today, so you don't have to—."

"I'm not just talking about today, runt!" he snapped, slapping his paper down on the table, showing the headlines. Wearily, Conan looked up at him, raising an eyebrow before he soon knew what the detective meant. His heart sank and so did his eyes when he realized the full extent of what his next lecture would be about. It didn't take a genius to figure it out.

"With Ran going away to college soon, I'm stuck with you in my hair all the time! I put up with you over this past year only because my daughter was the one that watched over you! But now…" Kogorou sighed in defeat, picking up his paper again to hide his face, "Now _I'm_ stuck with you until your parents decide to come for you."

Conan's, or rather, _Shinichi's_ heart skipped a beat. He didn't know what he would do without Ran being around all the time. He had a feeling that soon he would be experiencing what Ran had felt for little over a year when she didn't get to see him. He tried to reason with himself, saying that it was two completely different situations, but in the end, he found that they weren't too different after all. She may have been seeing him everyday, but she didn't know it. That's as bad as not seeing at all.

He recalled that day about a month ago when Ran had first told him that she was getting ready for college. She had been accepted into one and at first, Conan was relieved that she would be staying in Japan. But then she broke the news that she would be heading to Miyazaki. It wasn't overseas, but it was practically on the other side of Japan. It had to be about five hundred miles away from Tokyo.

She had said she wanted to study to become a lawyer like her mother, but may change her mind later on.

That was also the day that she told Conan that she hoped and wished more than anything that Shinichi would show up for graduation, but of course, that was quite impossible. Conan had pushed Dr. Agasa and Ai over their limits to try to find a cure as soon as possible. Of course, if they didn't come up with an antidote when they weren't on a time schedule, they weren't going to find one within a month. As depressing as it was, Conan felt himself begin to lose hope.

In a way, he tried to convince himself that Ran would be a lot safer on the other side of Japan and he wouldn't have to worry about her, but then those dreaded ifs came into the picture. What if the Black Organization was following her and actually pursued her all the way over to Miyazaki? He wouldn't have any way of knowing about it then.

Of course, he couldn't just tell Ran not to go to college, though. Colleges were hard to get into and he saw how happy she was when she got accepted easily. But, as she told him, there was also a certain part of her that didn't want to leave Tokyo until Shinichi showed back up. To her, there was nothing more fearful than her not being there when Shinichi was done with his case.

Conan wouldn't take it, however, for he didn't want to have Ran waiting around forever. Most likely, he thought, she could very well go to college for four years and come back and he'd still be Conan. But he did promise to phone her if ever he did hear anything from Shinichi.

She would be his first priority if he returned to normal, anyway.

He got thrown from his flashbacks when Kogorou snapped his paper again, laying it down on the table again so he could light a cigarette. Though he had gotten used to it, Conan still hated the smell.

Jumping off his chair, he walked to the door and grabbed his backpack and shoes, ready to leave for school. He looked back into the house he had begun calling home, his little hand resting on the doorknob. His eyes saddened considerably as reality began to sink in. Pretty soon, this would be how every morning started.

Ran wouldn't be there to make him breakfast like she usually did; she wouldn't be there to walk him halfway to school until he met up with Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko. She wouldn't be there to take him out for some fun for no special reason at all; and most of all, she wouldn't be there to just talk to him.

He sighed as he closed the door behind him and started walking to school. When he first got turned into a child, he didn't realize how much he would really be missing out on.

But now that Ran was about to move on to bigger and better things, he realized just how much he was getting left behind.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Unfortunately, a month and half went by quicker than anyone in the Mouri residence ever wanted it to. Kogorou was angered that he would be stuck with only Conan now, Conan was oppressed that Ran would be leaving, and Ran was depressed that she would be leaving without saying goodbye to Shinichi. On top of that, she also felt a little guilty leaving Conan with her father, plus just leaving him in the first place. She had grown really close to the young boy and knew he would be at the top of her list of the people she would miss the most.

It was the night before her initial departure and everyone was having a hard time falling asleep. Kogorou drank himself to sleep to make it easier. Sonoko had stayed the night, having wanted to see Ran off to the airport, also. After talking for some time about all the good memories they had, Sonoko had drifted off.

Feeling lonely, Ran exited her bedroom, surprised to see Conan sitting on the couch in the living room in the dark.

She stepped closer to him, her eyes sympathizing when she saw how melancholy he looked when he gazed up at her through his glasses. She sat beside him slowly, gently resting a hand on his shoulder.

"So you couldn't sleep either, huh?" She questioned softly.

Conan shook his head and looked down at his hands that were in his lap.

"Hai…seems almost impossible, right?" She asked, slouching against the couch, her hand sliding down his back. Ran gave a small, forced laugh, her eyes wandering up to the ceiling; "It seems like just yesterday I started my senior year. I actually thought it would go by slow without…" she trailed off, tears stinging her orbs immediately after she thought about him.

Without turning around to look at her, Conan asked, "Does this mean you're going to try to forget about Shinichi-san?"

The question threw her completely off-guard. And it wasn't so much the question in itself, but rather, the way he asked it. He sounded so downhearted…like the world would end if she ever said that she was letting Shinichi go.

When she didn't answer right away, Conan turned around. From the darkness of the room, the only light available being the moonlight that shined in from outside, his glasses shined, concealing his eyes.

Without noticing, a single tear zigzagged down her cheek. Her lids closed and she rested her head against the back of the couch.

"I…could never forget Shinichi, Conan-kun, rather I tried or not. I prayed with everything I have to make him come back to me…to allow me to see him at least once before I left, but…" she trailed off, a few more tears escaping their imprisonment, "that didn't happen."

She sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to regain herself for she knew that she had cried too many nights over this topic. Ran opened her eyes once more, rimmed with tears, her vision blurred. She managed a small, soft smile when Conan leaned back against her, his head on her chest. Her closest arm encircled him, her other hand running through his soft hair.

"I keep hoping he'll just show up out of nowhere…without announcing it. He'll just surprise me one day and even though he might not have any wrapped boxes or flowers with him, just seeing him will be the greatest gift of all.

"And when I think of that…I think…he'll be the one to be dramatic enough to not show up until I'm at the airport, about to leave Tokyo. We could make last minute plans to somehow be together and…" Ran closed her eyes again, imagining it in her mind, "and then he'll hold me. He'll hold me so close to him that I know he doesn't want to let go of me anymore than I want to let go of him."

With saying this, she wrapped both her arms around Conan, embracing him to her in a tight hold. Conan had also closed his eyes, imagining all that she was speaking. He shook slightly when he realized he was picturing it all to well; wanting it all too much.

"Even if he doesn't show up at the airport tomorrow," Conan began in such a shaky voice, he began to believe he _was _a scared child, "I'm sure Shinichi-san wants that just as much as you do…"

She smiled through her tears, swinging her legs up on the couch while still holding the young boy close to her, "Just hearing you say that makes me feel a lot better, Conan-kun. And even if he doesn't show up tomorrow, I'll still have you there…

"And that makes it bearable enough to live through."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

My first Detective Conan story…would do you think? Sorry if the prologue seemed a little rushed, but it's basically to lead up to the main point. Thanks for reading!


	2. Catching Up

**__**

Over the Years

I.

A young man stood outside of a tall building that looked to be about seventy feet. He wore a formal blue suit, complete with the slacks and over-jacket. Dark-rimmed glasses covered his eyes; a couple pieces of his black hair that sometimes looked brown in the sunlight fell into his view.

A small smile curved over his lips as he then looked down at a small piece of paper he held. It simply stated the name of the building (Yoshori and Co.) and the address. He had gotten the information at the City Service Center, thanking the gods that he knew the name of the company, or else the woman behind the counter would have caused even more trouble than was necessary.

He folded the paper up four times before sticking it in his right-side pocket.

Finally, he walked forward, up the twenty steps that lead into the main entrance. As soon as he entered through the glass doors, an air of serenity filled the air. He was sure that if he was with someone at this moment, he would begin talking to him or her in a hushed whisper, though it wouldn't be quite obligatory.

Walking about ten feet inside, he came to the front desk where he met a pleasant looking woman in a business outfit. She had been looking down at some files, smiling when she looked up and saw him.

"Hello, may I help you?"

"Yes," the man responded, tapping his fingers anxiously on the desk, "I'm looking for a Mouri Ran. Is she available?"

The woman smiled more when he mentioned Ran's name. She put the files down and slid to the other side of her desk where a black phone resided, "She should be. Just give me your name so I can tell her she has a visitor."

He shifted uncomfortably, putting his weight from one foot to the other, "Actually, I was hoping to just surprise her."

"Oh…" the woman put the phone back down, "you an old friend?"

He nodded, accidentally catching the eye of a woman that was walking by, blushing slightly when she flashed him a flirtatious smile.

"Okay," she responded, "Mouri-san is located on the sixth floor. You'll run into her personal secretary there, so you might have to inform her who you are."

Sighing lowly, he nodded again and thanked her, heading for the elevator he spotted to the left. He was glad when no one else entered the small room, making it to the sixth floor in peace.

He was a bit disappointed when he was told that he would have to speak with Ran's secretary, knowing personnel's will not just allow anyone in to see their employer without many details. However, luck was one his side, for as he stepped off the elevator, he saw her.

He stopped abruptly, hardly paying any mind to the sound of the elevator door closing behind him. Watching as she talked and laughed with a few of her fellow workers, he was amazed at how much she looked the same. Sure, he wasn't exactly used to seeing her in clothes that he always saw her mother wear, nor have her brown hair tied tightly back in a bun.

Her laugh danced into his ears, a smile once again coming to his lips when he saw how happy she looked. He wasn't sure if he should go over to her while she was speaking to others, a man and woman, or just wait until she was free.

His eyes caught a brown door directly to his left, a rectangular golden plate near the top; "Mouri Ran" etched into it. He also spotted what must have been her secretary and figured that if he didn't go to her now, she might go into her office, and then he would have to speak with the secretary.

Making up his mind, he began walking towards the girl turned woman. To his luck again, they were just wrapping up their conversation when he reached her. He noticed how the man suggestively touched Ran's elbow before he left, trying to ignore the small tumble of jealousy in the pit of his stomach.

He walked up behind her and put his hands of her eyes. He smirked when she didn't jump from surprise or throw him over her shoulder for self-defense.

"Guess who," he said, smiling more when she laughed.

"Umm…speak again," she requested when she didn't recognize his voice right away.

"This is your last chance," he teased, moving his hands further away from her eyes when he thought that she wouldn't guess right. She probably just figured it was one of the people she worked with.

However, his smile faded when he felt and saw her body stiffen. He blinked when he thought he might have scared her. He took his hands away from her eyes and took a step back, too used to getting punched when she felt threatened. Sure, she might have given up karate when she began working in the office, but with the shape she was in, it looked like it could still be her passion.

"Shin—," she began, her eyes wide as she turned around to face her visitor. She shut her mouth abruptly, though, when she finally set eyes on him.

He did look like Shinichi. In every sense, he _was _Shinichi…except for the glasses. That's what stopped her from saying his full name in the first place. She looked him up and down. Yep, same style of clothing, same build, same face, same hair…was it possible that he had finally found her and…

No. She knew that couldn't be possible…or was it? But this man was wearing glasses…as far as she knew, Shinichi never had problems with his eyesight. She looked closer at him, taking notice at how uncomfortable he seemed to have become.

"Wait…" she began, standing up straight again with a large smile, "I'd recognize those glasses anywhere. You're Conan-kun!"

Hearing her finally say his name, his face also broke out into a large smile. Out of habit, he stuck his hands in his pockets after adjusting his glasses from the mention of them.

He laughed and nodded, "You're right…but you cheated. You weren't supposed to look." He shook his head as if disappointed in her, but his bright blue eyes sparkled teasingly.

Ran giggled, but not at his joke. She was just too surprised to see him standing there after ten years. She remembered him more as an eight-year-old boy, not…this! It took her breath away to see how much he resembled Shinichi. She didn't know how he couldn't be her high school love. She wanted to tell him so badly that he looked like Shinichi, but she was sure he had heard enough of that when he was still a young kid.

So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't realize how long she must have been standing there, gaping at him.

He brought a hand out of his pocket, waving it in front of her eyes, "Ran-nëchan, you there?"

Her eyes blinked rapidly for a moment, finally snapping out of it. Again, she laughed from joy upon seeing him, "Conan-kun, really! Give me a moment to realize that this isn't a dream. I'm so happy to see you," she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

A little shocked by her greeting, he at first stood there with his arms outspread, looking down at the woman who clung herself to him. He smiled then, realizing how long he'd been wanting to wrap her up in his arms. Without another thought, he rested his head against hers and brought his arms around her torso.

Ran noticed that a few of her fellow employers were giving her a strange look, making her clear her throat and step away from him, unwrapping her arms. She was a little reluctant to let go, but figured they had plenty of time for such things later. That is…she hoped.

"When did you get here? How did you find me?" She asked, firing one question after another, "How long do you plan on staying?"

"Heh…" he sweat dropped at her enthusiasm, sticking his hands back in his pockets, "Well, I got here just this morning, actually. I drove, so it took me about a day and a half to arrive, and that's driving all day _and_ all night," Conan stated, giving a short yawn to emphasize.

"Awww, you poor thing!" Ran cooed, automatically going back into her earlier years when she looked after him constantly as a kid, "Did you check into a hotel anywhere so you could get some sleep?"

He shook his head, blushing at her concern, "No, as soon as I got here I came to find you. It was, after all, my main priority."

Ran's eyes lit up from that comment, reaching up to rest a hand on his shoulder to show her appreciation, "That's so sweet, Conan-kun. But…" she trailed off, looking around him to watch her secretary. She smirked when she caught the woman look away quickly, trying to seem busy by rustling through a pile of papers.

"Hey, Haili, an old friend of mine came all the way from Tokyo, so I'm gonna take the rest of the day off."

The secretary whom Ram referred to as Haili looked back up, her eyes alarmed, "B-but…Mouri-san, you still have a full day. And what am I supposed to tell your clients if they call? They might—."

"Haili, calm down," Ran ordered, rolling her eyes when she saw how frantic the small woman behind the large desk became, "Just tell my clients the truth, that I went out for the day and won't be back until tomorrow. Write down all my messages and I'll get back to them when I have time."

"Umm…are you sure?" Conan asked, looking from Haili to Ran, "I mean, if I came at a bad time, I could—."

"Nonsense, Conan-kun, you could never come at a bad time," Ran shrugged and began walking to her office, "Let me just grab a few things and we can go out for some breakfast. No biggie."

Conan watched Ran as she walked around Haili and into her office. He felt a little silly standing in the middle of the hall now, having the secretary glare at him angrily for messing up what she had hoped to be a smooth day. He turned around so he wouldn't have to look at her, his eyes narrowing some, _'Gees, talk about cranky. I don't see what the big deal is. She's a secretary, it's her job to answer the phone and take down calls.'_

"Okay, all ready," Ran announced, coming out of her office with a blue purse and a thick manila envelope. With a key she held in her hand, she made sure her office door was locked before throwing it back in her purse. She turned around and flashed Conan a bright smile, which made him forget all about the secretary.

__

'How she always manages to do that, I'll never know…"

They headed towards the elevator again, Ran pressing the button to go down to the first floor. They walked through the main entrance hall, exiting the doors and went down the steps.

"Your car or mine?" Conan asked, already reaching in his pocket for his car keys.

"Yours," Ran answered right away, following him as he walked through the parking lot, guiding her to where his car was. "Who knows if I'm going to be coming back tonight and a lot of times, people get their cars towed around here if a truck sees a car parked in a lot for too long. Go figure; they probably just want easy money. They won't pay attention to my car, though, because it's in the employee's parking lot. Sometimes workers stay here for so long that—."

He didn't mean to interrupt her, but something struck him as odd, "What do you mean 'who knows if you'll be coming back tonight'?"

"Oh, well, I meant as in…if we're going to be hanging out today—thank you—," she said when he opened the passenger door for her. She stayed quiet until Conan came around to slide into the drivers seat, "—than I'm not coming back to work."

"Yeah, but," Conan backed out of the parking space and went to the curve to exit the area, turning left when he saw no cars coming, "don't you have to get to work tomorrow?"

"No, my day off."

"…What about the next day?"

"I don't live to far from Yoshori, so I can just walk if I want. I had a lot of things to bring today, so that's why I drove," Ran explained, putting the folder she carried in the back seat.

He eyed her through his peripheral vision, smirking, "And what if it rains?"

She smiled smugly, pressing the small button on the door to roll down her window, "Then I'll just have you drive me to work."

"How do you know I'm staying that long?"

Looking over to him, she gave him a weird look, "Don't tell me you came all this way only to stay for a day or two."

He laughed and shook his head, stopping at a red light, "I was just kidding. What time do you go to work?"

"I usually try to get there by six-thirty," she stated, pointing to the left, "Turn left here, there's a good restaurant right down the street."

Conan followed her direction when the light turned green, "I don't know, I usually sleep in until about eight at the least."

"Then I'll just have to wake you up."

"Oh yeah?" He teased, the early morning sunlight reflecting off his glasses, making it almost impossible for Ran to see his eyes, "What if I don't tell you where I'm staying?"

"I don't have to worry about that," Ran teased back, tilting her head back to rest it against the head comforter of the seat, "'Cause you'll be staying at my place with me."

Surprised by her response, he accidentally accelerated too quickly for a side street, making a couple other cars honk their horns. Ran laughed at this while Conan blushed.

"Was it something I said?"

"I…I just wasn't expecting you to…umm…" he sweat dropped, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter, trying to make sure she didn't distract him anymore than she already was. He wasn't sure _why _exactly she was diverting his mind on other things besides the road; but he guessed it was just the overwhelming feeling of seeing her again after ten long years.

Sure, there were times when she would write home and tell them about her day or how things were going, but she didn't mention too much. The college she went to took up a lot of her time.

"Going to law school," she claimed in one letter, "takes up a lot of your time, especially with all the research papers we have to do. It's very stressful and quickly takes its toll on the body."

She didn't think it was too mandatory to send pictures of herself, since she always said that she didn't look any different from when she left, also saying that she really didn't go too far to see anything interesting to take pictures of. For awhile, Conan didn't believe her and simply thought she didn't want to buy a camera, but looking at her now, he saw that she wasn't too far from the truth. Miyazaki wasn't that different looking in the city from most other cities and, though he lived in Tokyo all his life, he still found it more fascinating. Not only that, but Ran was right when she said she didn't change much. The only thing he found different was the older, more mature expression in her face.

"Expecting me to…what?" she finally questioned when she didn't hear an explanation from her younger friend.

He smiled over to her, "Nothing." Conan looked out his window, seeing a short in height but long in width restaurant. He was glad that it wasn't too fancy looking, for he felt a little too worn out to act overly proper, "This it?"

"Yep. It may not look like much, but they have the best food available in the city."

"Looks fine to me," Conan commented, turning into the restaurant parking lot. He was glad to see that it wasn't too busy, guessing that most people probably already had their breakfast and was at work now. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was a little after ten. He parked and they headed inside.

They took their seats in a corner booth, Conan sliding in one side and Ran the other. Right away, a waitress that looked like she didn't want to be there at all came to their table. She carried a small notepad, grabbing the pencil she had stuck on her ear to write down their orders.

"What'll it be, kids?" She asked, her voice a little harsh, indicating that she was a smoker.

"Coffee," the both replied at once. They glanced at each other, blushing softly and looking down.

The waitress rolled her eyes up, commenting dryly, "Cute," she wrote it down, "And to eat?"

"I'll have your number two special, but I want hash browns instead of fries and bacon instead of sausage."

She nodded while writing it down, then looked over to Conan. Since he didn't have a menu and he wasn't sure exactly what else they had, he just shrugged and replied that he would have the same. It sounded good enough anyway.

When the waitress left to put in their orders, Ran got more comfortable by putting her purse beside her and clasping her hands together and resting them on the table. She smiled at the man across from her, "Anyway, you never told me how long you're staying."

He shrugged and leaned back against the seat, "As long as I want, really. My job pretty much allows me to go wherever I want without having to worry about taking off."

"Oh, really?" Her eyes brightened when she heard this, "What do you do?"

"I'm a…" he paused for some reason, weary about how her reaction would be. He shook his head to toss the feeling aside, "A detective."

Ran gave a short chuckle, leaning back herself now, "Is it just me, or does everyone I know become a detective. If it's that easy, maybe I should become one myself."

"Well…" he began, leaning forward to begin playing with the salt and pepper shakers, an old habit that never died, "many people can become detectives, but there are only a few that have what it really takes to be one."

"I hear you," Ran agreed, nodding her head a few times, "I know my father wasn't exactly the best until you came along." She watched him move the shakers around for a moment before eyeing him again, "Were you still his good luck charm when I left?"

Blushing a little again, he shoved the salt and pepper back to the inside edge of the table, "I guess you could say that. He kept on solving one impossible case after another. Over time, though, I began to pick up an interest in it and got hired when I was thirteen."

"Thirteen!" Ran exclaimed, her eyes widening with her smile, "That's great, Conan-kun! You must be really good if they hired you at that age."

He shrugged, a bit embarrassed by the compliments, "So, uh…what about you? You become a lawyer?"

She sighed, her shoulders slumping, "Yeah, but it's not so great right now. Everything's really slow. I just became one about a year ago and sometimes when people have big cases, they want an expert; one that's been in the game for a long time. It's hard for people to give you a chance when their money's on the line."

Conan nodded, understanding, "Yeah, well…people may be a little weary right now, Ran-nëchan, but once that one person gives you a chance and they see how good you've done, the calls won't stop coming in."

Thinking it over for a moment, she slowly began to nod, a small smile arching her lips up, "You're right, Conan-kun. Good thing for me you came when you did; that just gave me inspiration to hang on. In fact…you've always been able to cheer me up."

He blushed again.

"Oh…and Conan-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Just call me Ran."

He smiled, feeling his heart do a small flutter, "All right…Ran."

She nodded, affirming it, "That sounds much better."

The waitress then came back with their food, putting their plates full of waffles, bacon, and hash browns down in front of them. She then turned the coffee mugs that had been sitting there over, taking the large coffeepot and pouring steaming hot coffee into their cups, taking cream out of her apron and putting it on the side of the table, "Enjoy."

They stopped talking for a couple minutes, fixing their plates how they wanted it; cutting up the waffles, pouring syrup over everything, and pouring some cream into their coffee.

Ever since she first saw Conan in her office building, she couldn't help but have the urge to ask if he had heard from Shinichi at all. He did remind her of him, as she thought before, and now he seemed fresh in her mind once again.

She didn't want to seem too anxious, however, and make Conan feel as though she'd rather have Shinichi there instead of him. So, she decided to lead up to it.

"So…" she began, taking a fork full of hash browns and bringing it to her mouth, "how is everyone back home? Sonoko, Kazuha, and Heiji still around?"

Conan shook his head, beginning to eat also, "No, I'm pretty sure Sonoko's father sent her off to France. She didn't mind too much, because she always complained that with you gone, no one there could stand her."

Ran laughed at this, "I can only imagine."

"Kazuha and Heiji decided to move over to the West Coast. If I'm not mistaking, I think they had a kid about four years ago. I haven't seen them in a long time, so I'm not sure if they had a boy or a girl."

"Awww, how sweet," Ran commented, smiling as she took a sip of her coffee. Though she couldn't have been happier for them, she recalled times when her and Kazuha would talk about having a double wedding since they were so much alike. She would get married to Heiji and Ran would marry Shinichi. Two karate champs marrying two detectives. It would make the front page!

Kind of sad when those teenage fantasies didn't come true.

"And what about you're friends? What was that girl's name…Ayuma?" Ran asked, shaking her head in apology when she couldn't quite recall.

"Ayumi," Conan corrected, smiling at some of the memories, "She's fine. Her, Genta, and Mitsuhiko still hang out, but I grew away from the group more."

"How come?" Ran asked, though knowing that over time, people do start hanging out with different crowds. It wasn't like that with her too much, however, for she kept with Sonoko and Shinichi most of her life.

"There was a little bit of a rift between Ayumi and I, which, as I'm sure you know, can make things a little odd after it's all said and done," He explained, taking a time out to add more syrup.

Ran giggled, "I remember Ayumi-chan having a small crush on you when you guys were younger. I'm taking it that she didn't grow out of it as expected?"

He shook his head, "Not too much. She finally told me straight out how she felt when we were fifteen, but when I told her I didn't like her like that, she became a little distant." He rolled his eyes, "Females…"

Ran simply gave a forced smile now, setting her fork down and wrapping her fingers around the warm coffee mug. Poor Ayumi, she thought. She must have been so heartbroken, to be shot down by her childhood crush like that. Ran knew she would have wanted to shoot herself if she had decided to tell Shinichi she liked him and then he told her he wasn't interested. Her stomach tightened at the mere thought.

"What about Ai? I know she kind of liked you, too."

It was Conan's turn to give a forced smile, "She left…" he trailed off when he realized that wasn't the best use of words, "She moved," he corrected himself, "about a year after you left. Never heard a word from her since."

She nodded slowly when she saw how disappointed he looked for a moment, "It can hurt when you don't hear from a person in so long. I know…"

Conan quickly tried to think of something to change the subject, but Ran beat him to it.

"So have you heard from Shinichi at all in the last ten years?" She bit her bottom lip as she tried to make it a casual topic, even though she didn't know why she even tried. Conan knew how much she loved and doted after Shinichi, so she didn't have anything to hide.

__

'Think, think…give her a reasonable explanation without worrying her or making her hurt anymore…'

"No," he said bluntly, blushing fiercely when he felt her hard stare. He tried to think of more to say, even leaving "no" off like he wanted to continue. It didn't matter though. He said he hadn't heard from Shinichi in the past ten years and that's all there was to it.

"Oh…" Ran finally responded, looking down into the blackness of her coffee. A long time ago, she pushed Shinichi into the back of her mind, trying to move on with her life. But it was times like these when it just made her realize that she never stopped loving him.

Her eyes wandered back up to Conan, who now looked a little worn, his eyes showing maturity beyond his years. But that's how he always was, Ran thought. He always had that look that told he was smarter and wiser than he let on. She often had to wonder what could have happened to him to make him like that, but tried to never question him about it. She liked him how he was, anyway.

And yet…she didn't know why, since he always reminded her of Shinichi and she always cried when she thought about him. She hadn't cried in over eight years, but wasn't surprised when she felt those stupid tears build up in her eyes.

She sucked in a deep breath when Conan looked up at her, having felt the hard stare again. Conan had to be Shinichi's twin; there was no other way around it. He had those same blue eyes…the blue eyes that she could never get enough of.

Without realizing it, she felt a tear slip from her left eye. Maybe Conan really was a blessing. Maybe…maybe something horrible happened to Shinichi and his spirit resided in the only other person that could make her feel better.

Conan averted his eyes away from her quickly, kicking himself mentally for making her cry again. Why did he always have a habit of doing that? But that look she gave him…it was so longing that he could have sworn he heard her mind thinking and her heart beating. He had to catch his breath just thinking about it.

"Here's your check."

They both jumped back to reality when they heard the waitress's rough voice, looking to the edge of the table to see the receipt for their breakfast.

"I'll get it," Conan offered, reaching back into his pocket to retrieve his black wallet. He looked at the amount on the receipt and took out a bill and than a few smaller bills to leave for a tip.

"Ready?" Ran asked, taking a final sip of her coffee.

Conan gulped the rest of his down before nodding. They both slid from their seats, paid, and then left.

"Want to go back to my place so you can settle in?" Ran gave a good-hearted laugh when she saw him yawn again, his eyes drooping once, "You look really tired."

"Yep," he responded, getting back in his car and driving in the direction Ran told him; towards his temporary home.

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**__**

tively-split: Thank you for reviewing my story and I didn't take your criticism personally, as in, I didn't feel offended. I'm actually quite glad when people tell me my mistakes so I can try working on them. I have a few comments, however, myself.

"Antidote" is spelled correctly (unless I'm doing something wrong). I looked in the dictionary and it said:

Antidote: a remedy for poison

And unless I'm mistaken, I'm assuming you meant "anecdote" as the right spelling, but then I looked in the dictionary for that and it said:

Anecdote: a short account of a single incident or fact of an interesting nature.

And as far as I can tell, "antidote" is what I want.

Other than that, I know what you mean by my mistaking "whether" and "rather". I always was bad with those two words. . And sorry for using Japanese when it breaks your concentration, it seems to be that way also with a lot of other people, but sometimes its just a habit and I put it down. I tried to keep it out in this chapter. And with the identity thing at the beginning, I basically meant that over time, Conan gave up on finding the antidote so therefore, he claimed and accepted himself as Conan.

And thanks for telling me about the whole Shinichi bit. Guess I shouldn't always believe some of the things I see.

And for the rest of you, thank you so much for reading! I'll try to update as much as I can.


	3. Home

**__**

Over the Years

II.

"Well, here we are."

Ran unlocked her door and stepped inside, holding one of Conan's suitcases for him as he carried the other three. She smiled when she saw him look around from the doorway, seemingly impressed.

"Wow, Ran, you've got a nice place," he said. His eyes first looked over the kitchen in which they were standing in, commenting how it was eloquent, but simple enough for the normal person to feel comfortable. The kitchen counter was covered with marble, the cupboards made of fine oak wood. The table looked to be crafted from the same wood material, the wicket chairs covered with soft cushioning to make the area look homey. The kitchen floor had off-white tiles, so as to make it look clean, even if it got a bit dirty.

"Just don't stand there," Ran called to him from the other room, "come on in."

"Right," he answered, smiling as he closed the door and walked out of the kitchen into what he saw was the living room. It had the same simple mellifluous set-up as the kitchen did. She only had one couch that would hold three people, but he found that to be enough; she did live by herself after all. Seated in front of the deep blue couch was a low coffee table that had a glass top. About seven feet in front of that was a large television that sat on the floor, a DVD player on top.

"You're lucky I decided to get a house with two bedrooms," she spoke up from behind the couch, her hands resting on the back of the soft material. She laughed slightly when she saw him give her a certain look, "At first, I didn't really think I would have anyone over for a night. But I got it just in case. Good thinking, right?"

Conan chuckled and walked in front of the television, heading towards the other door that would lead into the rest of the house. To his surprise, he had entered the hallway.

Ran came up behind him, squeezing past him so she could give him the rest of the tour. She pointed right. Conan saw a closed door at the end of the hallway.

"That's my room down there. And to your left," she pointed the other way, Conan's eyes following to view a slightly ajar door right across the hall and another closed door at the far end of the hall. "That's the bathroom and at the end is the guest bedroom, which will now be called your room."

Conan nodded and grinned down at her, "This is a perfect set-up. Having the bathroom right between the two bedrooms and the living room. Its like one room leads into the next.

"It kind of does," Ran said, explaining when he gave her a confused look, "Each of the bedrooms have closets. If you step in deep enough, you'll see another door. That leads to what looks to have been more of a hallway closet and then it leads to the bathroom. So really," she went on, "the bathroom has three doors. All three can lock from the inside."

Conan's eyes widened as he looked down to the open door, "Wow, is the bathroom really that big?" He asked, before beginning to walk towards it to see for himself.

"I guess you could say it's about as big as all the other rooms." Ran picked up his bag again and walked down with him so he could then put his things away.

Pushing the door open all the way, Conan flicked on the light switch, letting out a low breath when he gazed at it. Indeed, the bathroom was large in size; he figured that was due to the lack of rooms in the good-sized house. It was able to fit perfectly.

Straight ahead he saw the shower, the shower door slightly slid open. He looked to his right to see the toilet and, right in between the shower and the toilet, was the door that Ran could enter if she walked through her closet. To his left, he saw the sink and the door that he could enter. The bathroom was an off-white also, matching the color of the kitchen.

"Impressed?" Ran asked when she saw how he examined and analyzed each room. She backed out and walked further down to his bedroom. Opening the door, she walked in and dropped his bag at the foot of the bed, turning back around and smiling when she saw him come in.

"See?" she teased, throwing out her arms to emphasize, "Aren't you glad you're staying here instead of some hotel or motel?"

He laughed and laid the rest of his luggage down, "I sure am." He saw that it was a simple bedroom, holding all he needed; a bed, a dresser, a night stand, and a desk.

Looking at the bed, he remembered how tired he was and his eyes drooped again as he covered his mouth to muffle a yawn. He blushed a little when Ran laughed at him, holding his hand behind his head, "Heh, guess all the excitement got to me."

"That's okay," she excused him, walking towards the door again, "I'll let you sleep for a little bit; get your energy back. Have a nice rest," winking, she closed the door to give him his privacy.

Though he was fatigued, Conan stood there smiling for a moment at the door. Nothing had made him happier than when he saw Ran and how openly she accepted him into her home, even after all these years. For some reason, he wanted to think more on it, but as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was knocked out.

On the other side of the door, Ran also smiled, glad to have Conan back in her life. Secretly (almost so secretly even she didn't know it herself), she was hoping Conan would think about moving to Miyazaki with her. She had made some new friends, but there was nothing like old friends. It reminded her that the past still existed.

Oddly enough, this thought wiped the smile off her face quickly. She blinked at her mood change and shook her head as she walked back down the hall, "I should get some work done so I don't fall too far behind."

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A few hours later, Conan slowly began to come out of his sleep. The sun was just now really starting to come in through his window and shine directly in his face. Scrunching his face up with annoyance from the disturbance, he finally began to squint his eyes open. He had fallen asleep with his glasses on and had to rub his temples when he sat up, feeling where they left small indents in his skin. Looking at the digital clock, he saw that it read two-fifty-five.

"I guess four hours of sleep is good enough for now," he mumbled to himself and stood up, stretching his arms high above his head.

He walked out of his room, heading towards the living room. He stopped in the doorway, however, when he spotted Ran leaning forward on the couch, writing something down on a paper that was placed on the coffee table. Other papers were spread about, one overlapping another.

Conan noticed how determined she looked while she worked. He grinned to himself and crossed his arms, leaning against the panel. Ran had her tongue over top of her upper lip, her eyes narrowing and then brightening, her hand holding tightly to the pen as she wrote vigorously.

Not wanting to interrupt her, he quietly walked behind the couch and into the kitchen. Feeling rather thirsty, he searched through some cupboards before he found the glasses, then getting himself a drink of water from the faucet.

"Conan-kun, is that you?" Ran asked from the other room, soon making her appearance in the doorway. She watched him nod as he continued to gulp down the water, only taking a breath when he was finished. He put the glass back on the sink.

"Have a nice sleep?" she inquired, grabbing a banana from the fruit basket she had sitting in the middle of the table. Before he could answer, she went on, "About two hours ago, I took a break in my research and turned on the TV," she paused for a moment to take a bite of her fruit, "anyway, it seems you've come just in time."

"In time?" he asked, his head cocking to the side, "In time for what?"

"On the news, they said a bad hurricane was going to hit Kagoshima, a city a little less than fifty miles from here," she explained, pausing every now and then to continue eating, "they claim it's gonna strike sometime between tonight and tomorrow afternoon.

"We're far enough away to be safe, but we're gonna get a lot of rain from it," Ran sulked some and went over to throw the banana peel away, "the weatherman said he predicted rain, rain, and more rain for the next four days or so."

"That's a lot of rain," Conan agreed, nodding his head. He pressed his palms to the back of one of the chairs, putting some of his weight on it. Smiling, he rocked on his heels, "Oh well, I'm sure we'll find stuff to do to keep ourselves amused."

"Hai, demo…" she sighed and leaned back against the wall, "I was hoping to show you around some.

Shaking his head, he walked around the table and back into the living room, where Ran followed him. He took a seat at the far end of the couch while Ran sat back in the middle, where she had been sitting.

"I'm sure it'll still be possible," Conan assured her, putting his left foot over his right knee, "a car can handle rain."

Picking up her pen again, she merely twirled it in between her fingers, "It's still not the same. It's nice to just walk around sometimes."

"True," he agreed. Getting an idea, his eyes brightened as he sat forward, "Well, do you have time now? The sun's shining at the moment, so it would be a perfect time."

Ran smiled widely at the idea and dropped her pen back down to her papers, suddenly not worrying about it. She stood up and stepped over his feet as she headed towards the hall, "That's a great idea! Let me just change out of these clothes and then we can go."

He smirked at her enthusiasm before turning his attention down to the papers Ran had lying everywhere. Picking up a random sheet, his eyes wandered over the words. He narrowed his eyes when he studied it closer and read it in his mind:

__

'Yomaru Someya, wife of the deceased, Yomaru Zaliro has been filed a charge of murder by her sister, Setuna Tama. Yomaru has filed the same charge. Setuna admits to have been having an affair with her sister's husband. The victim was found dead in his study at approximately five-thirty on the date of July 21st, 2004. Suspects will be questioned in court in front of a judge and jury on the date of—.'

"Okay, all ready. Let's…" Ran trailed off when she entered the living room again, catching Conan looking through her files. She now wore blue jeans and a tank top, her hair out of the bun but up in a high ponytail.

Conan looked up when he heard her, quickly setting down the paper where he found it. He blushed at having been caught snooping, "Sorry, I didn't mean to—."

Ran laughed, "It's all right, Conan-kun, I don't care. I doubt you'll go out and tell the world about it." She went over and gathered all her papers together to make a big messy pile in the middle of the table, sticking it oddly into the manila folder.

"Umm…" Conan stuck his hands in his pockets as she did so, "seems like you got a tough case on your hands. Who are you representing?"

"Yomaru Someya," Ran answered, standing back up and brushing back a few pieces of stray hair from her eyes, "if that woman cries half as much in court as she does while talking to me, the jury and judge won't have to listen to me. They'll _pity_ her."

Conan tried to crack a smile, but it didn't work that much. He looked back down to the folder, wondering if good detectives looked the scene over properly when they found the body. He was confident in himself enough where he thought he could have figured out who the killer was before it had to be brought to court.

"But let's not talk about things like that right now," Ran interrupted his thoughts, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door, "Come on, I know a fun place we can go."

Nodding, he allowed her to drag him outside again, stopping on the sidewalk to wait for her while she locked the house up.

"I should give you my spare key," she stated when she was done, beginning to walk down the street, ignoring the heavy flow of cars, "just in case I'm not around when you need in or something."

Conan stuck his hands in his pockets again and agreed, looking over to her, "So…where exactly do you plan on taking me?"

Grinning mischievously, Ran held her hands together behind her back and looked straight ahead, "Somewhere where teens and kids go to play, but miners under the age of thirteen have to bring their parents."

"Is that supposed to be some kind of riddle?" he asked, looking quickly when he heard about five cars beep at once. He raised an eyebrow when he didn't see any mishap occurring.

"Don't worry about that," Ran said, waving off all the honking, "guys around here always have to beep at every girl they see walking down the street." She smiled when Conan chuckled and then went back to answer his question, "You can think of it as a riddle if you really want to figure it out."

They turned a corner to head down another street, "Well, if it's for teens and kids, why do you wanna go?" he inquired, smirking when she scoffed.

"I can be just as playful as any sixteen year old!" she replied, coming to her own defense. She rested her hands on her hips and turned her head up, "In fact, I still look as good as a teenage, if I do say so myself."

"That you do," Conan agreed immediately, causing him to look away when Ran flashed him a look of surprise.

Blinking a couple times, she finally beamed with delight at his compliment, "Arigatou, Conan-kun."

They continued walking down a few more streets before Ran finally stopped him in front of a large building that looked like it could be rundown. There once must have been words painted on the side, but got chipped away over time. There was some propaganda spray painted on the side.

"What _is _this place?" he had to ask, beginning to think she was taking him into a hidden slaughterhouse or something of the sort, "A haunted house?"

Laughing from obvious excitement already, she grabbed his hand again and went for the doors, pulling the metal doors open to enter inside, "Not quite…"

Conan was surprised to see a lot of metal walls when he stepped inside, happening to spot a glowing red light over top of a far door that read "Laser-Tag Entrance."

His eyes widened behind his glasses as he stared at her as if she lost her mind, "Laser tag? You…play laser tag?"

"Yeah," she said quickly, pulling out eight dollars from her pocket and handing it to the person behind a small desk. She pulled him over to a stand that held goggles, guns, and red and blue stick-on targets. "Well…actually," she went on while she grabbed two of the blue targets, sticking one on her stomach and another on her back, "this is my first time. But ever since this place opened, I've kind of been curious. However…" Ran grabbed a pair of goggles to make sure they fit her nicely, "everyone at work said it was too childish, so they wouldn't come with me."

He stared, dumbfounded, at the girl in front of him that wore what must have been night vision goggles, her eyes pretty much invisible behind the eye wear. He had to wonder if she was always this…eccentric, or he just never really noticed.

"Well? Are you gonna play, too?" she asked impatiently, grabbing a gun and turning to head towards the entrance of the laser-tag, disappearing inside. Conan watched for a moment before looking down at all the items. He didn't recall ever playing laser tag and, quite truthfully, didn't recall ever thinking that he _would _play laser tag. Sighing, he decided to join her nonetheless; after all, she did already pay.

He grabbed two red targets and put them where he had seen Ran put them on herself, then grabbed a pair of goggles and a gun.

"Well…here goes nothing," he said before entering the laser tag room also. Suddenly, things got darker, only certain things glowing brighter from the use of his goggles.

"Ran!" he called out, having the gun lowered at his side. He heard his voice echo off all the walls, then heard some footsteps from the right, turning quickly, "Ran?"

He saw a pinkish-red light go right past his face and froze up when he heard a low groan-like-sound come from the wall behind him. From somewhere in front of him, he heard Ran giggle before detecting her footsteps again.

Smirking, he held his gun properly now as he moved left to go behind a wall, action music playing in the background, "So that's how you want to play, huh?"

Jumping when the target on him began blinking and making a low beeping noise, he realized that he had been hit. He turned back quickly in time to see Ran run around the bend.

"She's pretty good at this for never having played before…" he commented lowly to himself before running after her to see if he could get a point.

The game lasted for more than an hour, considering it wasn't regarded completely over until one person was hit ten times. Conan only managed to get Ran seven times. He swore to himself that he wouldn't allow Ran to get that tenth hit until he got her nine times also, so they could make it a close game when one of them did lose.

Ran surprised him, however, when she somehow ended up right in front of him with her gun to his target on his chest. He paused when he realized how futile it was to move, for as soon as he moved a muscle, she would have been able to pull the trigger.

She smirked at him, "Looks like you lose, Conan-kun," she stated and laughed lowly, "Any last words?"

"Yeah," he said quickly, leaning his face down closer to her so he could see through her goggles slightly, "tell me, was this really your first time playing?"

Shrugging, Ran began putting pressure on the trigger, "Maybe only a couple times before, but that information is to never get out." With that, she pulled the trigger, making his target blink rapidly, a low whistle sounding out over the area.

He shook his head and lifted his goggles carefully over his own glasses. He smiled when Ran did the same, now noticing how dark it actually was in the large, maze like room.

"You played a good game," Ran critiqued, "you knew how to look around, and good places to hide, and you have good aim, but…wasn't good enough. Did you have fun?"

Conan nodded right away, though he was sure Ran was having a hard time seeing the gesture, "How about we get something to eat now? My treat."

Smiling through the darkness, she reached out to grab his hand, blushing when her fingers accidentally slid over his pants first. Her fingers then wrapped around his own, pulling him forward so they wouldn't separate from each other while trying to find the exit, "You know…you sure are great, Conan-kun. You make me remember back when I was younger and how much time I wasted and some of the fun I missed out on."

His eyes gazed over to her quickly, the comment going straight to his heart for some reason. He was glad he could make her happy, but felt a little oppressive when he detected the note of sadness in her voice.

__

'I promise, Ran…I'll make up for lost time as much as I can…'

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They spent the rest of their day to the fullest, what with going out to eat, shopping around, and then walking through the park. Before they knew it, the sun was going down over the horizon and they began on their stroll towards home.

"I really had a fun day," Ran said, taking another bite of her ice cream cone that they had gotten at the stand in the park. She dug through her pocket to find her key when they came to the door, finishing off her cone before inserting the key and unlocking the door.

"Me, too," Conan walked in behind her and closed the door, smiling when he saw her yawn.

Ran laughed at herself, stepping into the living room, "I'm worn out. Usually I'm getting ready for bed around nine; my days are mostly busy, so…"

He nodded, "I know. I feel a little worn out myself again. Four hours is definitely not enough when I stay up for eighteen hours driving."

She smiled and walked over to him, feeling her stomach do a small flip-flop when she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his cheek. As though it were against her own will, her lips lingered for long moments before she finally pulled away slowly. Ran blushed when she saw how wide Conan's eyes were, clearly seeing the tint to his own face.

"I'm glad you came, Conan-kun," she lowly said again as she turned around sharply. Clasping her hands together over her chest, she began walking out the doorway towards her bedroom, "Goodnight, Conan-kun…I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah…" he agreed as he watched her leave the room, slowly bringing his hand up to the cheek that she had kissed. He stood, frozen there, as if in a trance. Was that supposed to be a friendly kiss or a "motherly" kiss; the kind she gave him when he was younger.

Eventually, he decided to assume it was a _very_ friendly kiss and smiled widely. He began heading towards his own room, eagerly awaiting to sleep the night away so he could spend tomorrow with her again.

"Finally…" he said to himself as he walked into his bedroom, "I'm home again."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Okay, quick AN here. For everyone (especially those who catch it more than others), I'm sorry for the grammatical errors. Most of the time, I write it, read over it, correct a few things, and say it's okay. But once I go back and look at it _after _I posted it…yeah, that's when I catch everything.

And a few of you are wondering about why it had been a full ten years since Ran went to visit. Well…as it is known, law school is pretty expensive and Kogorou is cheap. This adds up to no plane ticket for a ride home. If that theory doesn't suit well with you, then…well, think up of your own reason, by all means.

And about Ran having a sudden romantic-like interest in Conan, yes, it's more working its way up without her realizing it, because…even if its not purposely…she does see him as being Shinichi. Umm…just think of Inuyasha and how he seemed to begin liking Kagome pretty quickly, a lot due to the fact that she looked like Kikyou. Best way I can explain it.

Anyway, thank you all for reviewing! It makes me _really_ want to keep writing, because I can be famous for having writer's block often…


	4. Miyazaki Murder Case

**__**

Over the Years

III.

Conan didn't feel like getting out of bed as soon as he awoke the next morning; it felt like one of those lazy-to-start days. He didn't hear Ran moving around the house at all, didn't smell any food cooking in the kitchen, didn't hear any murmurs from the television, so he assumed she was still in bed.

When he first awoke, it was going on eight o'clock, and remembered Ran telling him before that she was usually up around seven. He lay with the blankets pulled up to his stomach, his hands behind his head. Staring up at the ceiling, he realized just how comfortable he was with living with Ran already. It sure didn't take her long to welcome him right into her life again.

Of course…_he _never gave her a reason to have her kick him out of her life. _He _didn't do anything that broke her trust before.

Thinking this never really seemed to make matters any better, for he had learned to just accept things over time and not worry about any consequences that might pop up. Such as _him _eventually breaking her trust if she were to ever find out who he really was. He knew she wasn't stupid, but she had a certain way to block something from her mind when she found the idea completely absurd.

Even though it had been ten years, he still didn't trust his secret with anyone. After all, cases usually don't close until twenty years later, so he still had just reason to keep it hidden…right?

The more he thought about it, the more it confused him. When he thought he was thinking one thing, he would be thinking another, and then they would get scrambled together.

__

'Does that make any sense?' He asked himself, turning his head to the side again to see that it was now a little past nine. _'Ran should have been up by now…we went to bed fairly early.'_

Finally, he threw the blankets off himself and planted his feet to the floor. He yawned as he stood, ready to start his day.

llllllllllllllllllll

"Ran? Ran, are you here?" Conan called out when he didn't see her in her bedroom. Her door was open so he went down to see if she was awake, also, only to find an empty bed. He walked into the living room, then the kitchen, the house very quiet.

"Ran?" he called again, just to make sure he wasn't missing another room in the house that she hadn't shown him. His eyes settled on the kitchen table, spotting a little, white piece of paper that was held in place by the fruit basket. He picked it up and read it over:

"Had to go to the office for a moment to hand in some files. Be back as soon as I can, and you can help yourself with anything you would want to eat. See you when I get home."

He nodded as though she were right there and just told him that in person, "Thought she said it was her day off…oh well." Conan reasoned, figuring she had to turn in the things she should have done yesterday when she took the day off.

Deciding on just cereal for breakfast, he sat himself down on the couch to watch some early morning TV. He was never much into cartoons, so he kept the channels on the lower numbers where all the news was. When he found a station that was talking about the hurricane Kagoshima was getting, he set the remote down on the coffee table and viewed all the scenes the camera crew caught on film. Conan shook his head when he saw so many houses under water and cars floating in the middle of nowhere. And there was still more to come.

"More on that later," the anchorwoman spoke, sitting up straighter when a smaller picture appeared by her head of policemen and detectives inside of yellow caution tape. "In other news, a body was found dead this morning on Katamuku Avenue, due to a bullet wound through the victims head and chest. The man was found by this woman, an employer at Yoshori and Company."

When Conan heard the company that Ran worked for, he perked up, setting the bowl on the table in front of him as he leaned forward. His eyes widened when the small picture became larger to take up the whole screen, Ran coming on to the television with her name on the bottom. She was talking into the microphone, but Conan didn't stick around to see what she was saying. He quickly stood and ran out the door.

Figuring he would get to his destination a look quicker if he ran there, he kept his car parked in the driveway. Traffic was heavy this time of day in the city, and he didn't feel like causing any road rage.

Ran's face popped into his mind in a quick flash, his brain taking note on how freaked out she looked. He hoped she had just found the body and wasn't involved with anything.

About ten minutes later, he arrived at the crime scene, seeing as how a lot of the men and women at work were still inside the caution tape, probably looking for any clues. His eyes scanned the area for something else, however, his lungs letting out a breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding in.

"Ran, you're okay," he said as he approached her, smiling for her when she turned and saw him.

"Conan-kun!" She exclaimed, surprised to see him there, "What are you doing here? How did you know I was here?"

"I saw it on the news," he stated, relaxing when he was sure that she wasn't harmed in any way. His eyes roamed over to where all the important people were and took Ran's arm to lead her in that direction. He ignored the reporters that wanted to speak with her more.

"What are we doing?" She asked, walking beside him on her own when he released her.

He didn't say anything else as they arrived outside of the caution tape. He began to lift it, but was stopped by a police officer who was shaking his head, "No one's allowed to go in there, sir. Strict orders."

Reaching into his back pocket subconsciously, Conan pulled out a badge that told he was a detective and showed it to the officer. The cop took one look at it before nodding and stepping back to let him do his job.

Conan lifted the tape for Ran to go in before going in himself, "Is this how you found the body, Ran?"

Her gaze lingered on Conan for a long moment, as though she would give anything to keep staring at him than down at the dead body. Slowly, reluctantly, her eyes roamed down to the man lying dead on the cement. The avenue was on a side street, so there wasn't as much commotion, had it been in the busy part of the city.

The man was lying on his back, his body sprawled out except for one arm that was over his stomach. His eyes were wide but blank as they stared up to the sky, his mouth slightly agape as though he were in the middle of a scream.

Ran looked away quickly, taking strong note to all the blood that surrounded his upper body. Though she should've been used to seeing tons of dead people, considering it seemed that they showed up everywhere when she was younger and followed her father on cases, she could still not stand the sight of them. It always made her skittish and light-headed, thinking that it could have been someone she knew.

"Not quite," she finally replied, swallowing roughly and looking up to him again, "I was just walking back home the way I usually do when I saw him lying in the middle of the sidewalk. His back was towards me…but I just thought he was a homeless person. There's tons around here," she paused and made the mistake of looking back to the dead man. "I thought he was asleep and was going to wake him up to tell him he was blocking the whole sidewalk. A lot of people are cruel and would kick him out of their way if they were in a bad mood."

Conan nodded and told her to keep going as he walked over to the body, seeing the small holes in his forehead and right breast like the anchorwoman said. He kneeled down to take a closer look, hardly noticing how many of the other workers backed away for him.

"I stopped a couple feet away from him…just in case he got mad if I woke him up," Ran went on, "I called out to him, feeling frustrated when he wasn't responding. So I stepped closer and that's when I saw some blood underneath him."

Carefully reaching out, Conan touched the man's cheek to see how warm he was. The body was actually quite cold, but as far as what he could see, he didn't spot any discoloration of the skin, "He's been dead since…maybe early this morning around twelve-thirty to one-thirty A.M." Though he was mostly talking to himself, a guy behind him with a small notepad wrote the statement down.

Ran watched with slight amazement at Conan's work, "Feeling a little scared now, I reached out to shake him to see if he was all right, but…when I touched him, he rolled over onto his back and that's when…" She shivered noticeably and wrapped her arms around herself.

Conan looked to the bullet hole in the guy's forehead, noticing burn marks around the wound, "It looks like whoever shot him was at a very close range," he commented before beginning to unbutton the guys shirt. He popped the shirt open, gazing at the wound on his chest, "Hai, there's a burn mark around this one, too."

He looked up and down the body, seeing if he could spot anything else. That's when he noticed the man's arm the rested over his stomach. The hand was clenched tightly.

With forced strength, Conan began to pry the man's fingers open. He knew that when dealing with a dead, stiff body, it often didn't like it be moved. His eyes widened and he heard people around him gasp when he saw a bullet in the man's palm. He got out a white handkerchief and carefully plucked the shell from his hand.

"Do you think he killed himself?" A policeman asked behind him.

Conan narrowed his eyes as he studied the item more, "No, I highly doubt it. This bullet has never been used. Besides, it wouldn't make sense that he would have a bullet in his hand, but no gun around." He stood and dropped it in a plastic, airtight bag that someone held out for him. He looked to the detectives that were there before him, "_Did _you find a gun?"

They all looked at each other before shaking their heads, agreeing that they found nothing of the sort.

"Sumimasen…" A man spoke from outside of the caution tape. Conan turned to see a thin man, slowly walking towards the crime scene with a gun in his hand. No one panicked, for he simply held the gun down, holding it only by the handle. He held it out for someone to take, "I was walking by and spotted this lying around the bend and decided to—."

"Nani?!" Conan screamed, pointing at him sharply, "Drop the gun right now!"

Scared at his sudden outburst, the man dropped the gun to the ground and took a few steps back. He looked as though he wanted to run away, but froze when Conan yelled again.

The young detective rushed out of the caution tape area to where the man had dropped the gun. He kneeled down to get a closer look at the pistol, nodding once in agreement with himself he saw that the gun matched the bullet he found.

He then stood and glared at the man that brought the gun, "Why did you do such a stupid thing? If you found it, you should have told someone before picking it up." Conan sighed in frustration when he looked back down at the weapon, "Now your fingerprints are probably all over it."

"G-gomen nasai, sir, I didn't mean…" He began to stutter, blood rushing to his face quickly to make his skin dark red. He began to wring his hands around each other, his fingers from his right hand beginning to play with a golden band on his ring finger from his left hand.

Conan took note of this and figured it was his wedding ring, "Can you tell me your name?"

The man swallowed roughly, "Naru Goshi," he responded, his face beginning to sweat and his eyes crazily went back and forth. "Because you said my fingerprints are on the gun…does that make me a suspect now?"

Conan thought that it was a strange question to ask, especially when the guy seemed like he would pass out any second. He stuck his hands in his pockets, the early morning light reflecting off his glasses, "I would say yes, Naru-san."

"D-demo…" he stepped towards Conan and threw his arms out to the sides, "I just got here! I had no idea what was going on and I saw the gun and was going to turn it in to the police, but then—."

"Hold up there," Conan held up a hand to slow him down, "If you just got here and you know you didn't do it, then you shouldn't get too worried. Don't worry…" Conan turned to the side, his eyes narrowing again as he looked back over to the dead body, "I never let the innocent get arrested."

Goshi's eyes widened at this statement and took a few steps back, only to halt in his movements again.

"I wouldn't suggest you go anywhere, though. If you run off now, you could end up being the top suspect."

That was enough to make him stay.

Just then, Conan's keen eyes spotted something sticking slightly out of the man's pants pocket. He left Goshi to sweat it out as he walked back over to the body. He pulled the white piece of paper out, unfolding it four times before finally coming across a note:

Dearest Sanoi,

I'm sorry you have to read my words and not hear them, but I can't talk to you anymore. I don't think my husband found out about us, so that's not why I'm writing this. I found out about you, though. I've heard around that you've been selling and buying drugs. It broke my heart to hear that, but I knew it could break me much more if I got any more involved with you. I thought you were different, but I can't help but still love you…I'll always make sure to love you for the man I thought you were. Simply think of us as star-crossed lovers.

Naomi

Slowly, Conan looked up from the paper and down at the dead man. _'So…this guy was having an affair with someone's wife…' _Instantly, he looked over his shoulder at the still nervous Goshi who was fingering his ring again.

__

'I wonder…' He got snapped from his thoughts when he suddenly heard dogs barking. He saw that the police had brought in their trained dogs to sniff out anything unusual. They must have got a whiff of something bad, for all five dogs were going insane, growling and yipping at the dead man named Sanoi.

Without wasting a second, Conan began to tap Sanoi's other pocket, not surprised when he felt a bag of something. When he revealed it, he was holding a full bag of weed.

He sensed Ran walk up beside him and rest her hand on his arm. She tugged on his shirt gently to get his attention. When he looked to her to see what she wanted, he noticed that her eyes were not on him, rather, across the street by a bend of a building.

Almost immediately, Conan saw what she wanted him to see. It was a man dressed in all black; complete with the black hat, black overcoat, and black boots. He also detected a brown paper bag in his grasp.

"It's a little hot to be wearing something like that, don't you think?" He said lowly to Ran, her nodding in response.

Thinking quickly, he threw the weed at a random policeman before running off to get this man that Ran had seen.

"Wait, Conan-kun!" She yelled, beginning to follow him until she saw him wave over his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!" He yelled back at her, disappearing around the bend where the man in black had disappeared to. He ran down the sidewalk quickly, seeing the one he was after not too far ahead of him. Beginning to run after him, he slowed down a little when he saw the man run into a woman, ricocheting off one anothers shoulders to send them both toppling to the ground. The bag the man had been holding flew into the air, along with a large amount of money.

Not worrying about the money at the moment, Conan ran to the collision, jumping on the man when he began getting up.

"Oh, no you don't!" Conan stood beside him, his hands locking the man's hands behind his back. He pulled roughly to make him stand, ignoring the guys grunts and low curses.

Conan looked down to the woman that had got bumped into, holding her shoulder tightly, "Are you okay, ma'am?"

"I-I…" Was all she got out before the man pulled away from Conan's grasp abruptly and turned to throw a punch right in his jaw. Conan stumbled and held his hand to his mouth where he tasted blood, looking up sharply when he heard the woman scream. The man was coming back at him, swiftly flinging open a pocketknife.

Conan began to breathe heavier, but quickly told himself to calm down or he wouldn't get anywhere. Ignoring the pain in his jaw, he put his hands out to the sides, clenching his fists.

"Okay…now you've made me mad," he took a quick step back, bringing his one leg further behind himself. He was getting ready to put his soccer skills to the test and see how this guy handled a kick in his ribs.

"Conan-kun!" He suddenly heard, only being able to glance to the side for a moment before Ran was there. She jumped in front of him and turned to perform a side-kick, her foot covered by her low-heeled shoes going right into the guys gut. He groaned from the pressure, the knife slipping from his hand and falling to the ground. Ran then straightened her hand out firmly before flinging it down to the side of his neck, right in the soft spot that would leave anyone paralyzed for a good amount of time.

Conan's eyes grew as he witnessed the scene, hardly noticing the police arresting the passed out man. Since Ran had been to the office this morning, she was wearing her work clothes, which…consisted of a pretty tight skirt. When she had kicked, it rode up her thighs more, giving Conan a good look at how well she still kept her body toned and in shape. A light blush came to his face, due to the embarrassment of seeing her skirt up and getting saved by her.

She whipped around quickly when she saw that her work was done, smiling in satisfaction. Her grin faded quickly, however, when she saw the bruise on his chin. She reached forward and touched it gently, still seeing him wince.

"Oh, Conan-kun…he punched you," her eyes became worried as she rubbed his arm soothingly, "Does it hurt real bad?"

He grinned despite himself, though it was quite painful to do so, "Nah, not too bad. It'll heal in no time," he told her, feeling much better when she smiled again.

"So…did you find anything else out?" she asked, looking back to see the man in black in handcuffs, his eyes opening slowly when the cops were slowly sliding ammonia under his nose.

"Yeah…I think I may have got this case solved…I just need to find out one little thing," he said before walking back to the crime scene, smiling when Ran still held onto his arm.

"What did that letter you were reading say?" she asked, pausing before taking it from him when he handed it to her. She unfolded it also and quickly scanned over the words.

"It mostly sounds like a bad drama movie," Conan commented, trying not to worry too much about it when Ran awed at the sad circumstances of the situation. He was almost surprised to see Goshi still standing there, half-expecting to see that he had run off. Without stopping, he walked right up to the man still playing with his ring subconsciously.

Goshi looked up when Conan stopped in front of him.

"Naru-san, do you mind if you tell me your wife's name?" Conan asked, reaching up to touch his jaw when it began to tingle.

"My wife?" Goshi questioned, dropping his hands and putting them behind his back quickly. "I see that you got punched…are you all right?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," he waved it off, narrowing his eyes at Goshi, "Just answer the question. What's your wife's name?"

"I don't understand…what does my wife have to do with anything? Is she a suspect now?"

"Maybe…" Conan answered truthfully, getting a little impatient, "Just tell me her name."

Opening then closing his mouth, Goshi's eyes began to go crazy again, going from side to side. Sweat began to break out on his forehead, his short black hair matting to his skin, "M-my wife's name is Yura…now why did you want to know?"

Conan's eyes narrowed more dangerously, "Are you sure about that, Naru-san? I could look into your records easily and see if the woman you're married to's name is really Yura."

"Well, I, umm…" He began to stutter before fixing himself and standing straight up, "Do what you will, Detective. I have nothing to hide."

"Yeah, right!" The voice came from behind Conan, making him turn around to see the guy he chased down, still looking drowsy. Two cops were right behind him, holding onto his wrists, though he was handcuffed.

Conan studied over him quickly, also noticing how Goshi's eyes narrowed with recollection.

"You know each other?" He asked them both.

Goshi turned away briskly, "Of course not, never seen this guy in my life."

"Why don't you just tell the truth, Naru? Your wife's name isn't Yura…Kami only knows where you came up with that name," the guy in black, though still looking quite vicious and ticked off that he got arrested, spoke with great interest in helping Conan. "He married an American woman a few years ago," he paused, his teasing and torturous eyes going over to Goshi, "Her name was Naomi."

A flash struck Conan's brain as he remembered that was the name he saw at the end of the note he read in Sanoi's pocket. He turned back to Goshi slowly, knowing that the man was telling the truth just by the look in his eyes, "Is this true, Naru-san? Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

Goshi couldn't seem to find the right words to say. Finally, he lowered his head in defeat, "Naomi's been saying she wants a divorce for sometime now. I didn't know why…everything was going fine. A few months before she mentioned a divorce we were talking about having children. But then…one night when I came home, I found a note on the door. I was away on a business trip and wasn't due home for three more days, but I wanted to surprise her…"

"Stop with the pitiful story!" the man in black criticized, throwing himself forward only to get pulled back by the police, "You weren't morose, you were _pissed_! You knew Sanoi and—."

"Shut up!" Goshi suddenly snapped, clenching his fists, his body tensing, "You have no idea what I went through when I found out about them! I even kept it to myself to not embarrass her…and also hoping that she would eventually forget about it."

"But the letter said that she was breaking up with him when she found out he was on drugs," Conan pointed out, tilting his head towards the note that Ran still had.

"She did…but she was always distant after that. I saw how she still was infatuated with him. I hated it." Goshi explained, looking down in disappointment.

"So you killed Sanoi," Conan stated simply, shaking his head when Goshi looked up, shocked.

"How can you be so sure of that? Maybe it was Juku," he looked to the man in handcuffs, "he has plenty of reason to kill Sanoi. After all…they were both drug addicts. You said you found weed on Sanoi…maybe Juku killed him for that."

"Maybe…" Conan started slowly, but then shook his head, "But not likely. Though I did catch him with that whole bag of money, he probably was ready to get high. But if he wanted the weed free and killed to get it, don't you think he would have taken the drugs with him?"

Goshi's eyes grew larger as he realized that was true, "Did you check him over? Maybe he only wanted you to think that by leaving one bag behind and taking all the rest."

"Possibly, but those dogs aren't barking and I don't smell anything unusual," he looked at Goshi closer, the truth beginning to shine right through the murderer's eyes.

Conan went on, "You knew that Juku was around and was thinking that he would tell on you if we gave him reason to come forth. As they say, the murderer always returns to the scene of the crime. As far as what I can tell, you killed him last night and ran, dropping the gun along the way because you got scared. But then you remembered fingerprints. If the police found the gun and matched the DNA with you, you would be caught.

"Thinking quickly, you picked up the gun again and came to us, instead of risking us coming to you. You played the role of an innocent passerby, acting as though you just wanted to help us out. You wanted to cover up your fingerprints with your own fingerprints, as ironic as that is."

Shaking his head slowly, his eyes still wide with horror, Goshi stammered, "T-that's not possible. I don't even own a gun! You can ask Naomi, check my records, look—."

"I never said you owned a gun, Naru-san," Conan intervened, pointing over to Sanoi's dead body that was now being covered up by a body bag. "Clenched into Sanoi's left hand was a bullet. Drug dealers hardly ever go out at night without a gun. I would say he was just loading it when you came up to him, seeming as though you just wanted to have a chat with him. Sanoi may have been doing illegal things, but he may have also been a reasonable man. Why else would your wife be taken to him?"

Conan shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets, "Just catch him off guard and…boom. That's all there was to it."

Juku began laughing maniacally when he saw that Goshi was cornered. The police had to drag Juku away quickly, for they thought he would soon do something crazy though he was restrained. His laughing died down when they placed him in a police car.

"I don't understand…" Goshi spoke, his eyes shaking as he looked at nothing particular on the ground, "why she had to have an affair…I gave her everything."

Ran finally stepped forward again, the letter still held loosely in her hand. Her eyes showed pity and sympathy, "That doesn't always matter, Naru-san…but I hope you know that you just took away her everything."

Goshi looked up to Ran quickly, questions floating in the midst of his orbs.

"You said that she still seemed to love him," Ran explained, placing the note in Goshi's hand, "but obviously she still loved you also to stay with you as long as she did. Now…you killed him and got yourself put in jail." She shook her head as the cops came up behind Goshi to put handcuffs on him for perfect timing, "That's not everything, Naru-san."

The last image they saw of Goshi was the look of heartbreak. That mien is the one that lingers in the vulnerable depths of peoples minds the most.

With tears in her eyes, Ran turned to Conan, automatically putting her hand into his and leading him away, "Let's go back home so I can fix up that jaw of yours."

He sighed lowly and looked over his shoulder one last time, hardly paying attention to all the people telling him he did a good job. Squeezing her hand tightly into his, he tried to forget the unfortunate misunderstandings and flaws of human nature.

People were their own downfall. How sad that one had to be brought down from anothers injustices.

His eyes looked over to Ran, seeing her looking down sadly.

It was a never ending chain. _'I have to talk to Ran…and soon.'_

Hey everyone…sorry for the long time in between updates, but I got dragged away and just got home. And though I'm as tired as it gets, I made myself stay up to write this chapter. I know there wasn't as much romance in it, but this case strikes something later…I think. Anyway, I also wanted to see how I did with a case. How did you like it?

And thanks for all your reviews!


	5. The Storm Begins

**__**

Over the Years

IV.

"Conan-kun, honestly…how could you let that man punch you like that?" Ran asked, entering her living room where she told him to wait. She had gotten a large rag to put almost a whole tray of ice cubes on before folding the rag over. She went into the living room and sat beside him on the couch.

Conan was about to take the rag, but Ran took the liberty of pressing it to his jaw. He flinched for a moment when the frozen squares touched his sensitive skin, but he didn't pull back.

Sighing, he replied, "It's not like I just stood there and let him punch me. I got distracted and—."

"Well, you shouldn't get distracted like that," was all she told him for his excuse, bringing his hand up now to hold it to his chin as she sat back a little, "You're lucky he didn't go for an eye. That could've caused some damage." Ran paused and looked at him closer. Such blue eyes…she wasn't expecting herself to get lured into his gaze, snapping out of her trance before she said anything stupid.

"I hate that I can get pulled in so easily…" she mumbled to herself, forgetting that Conan was right beside her.

"What was that?" Conan asked, wondering if he heard wrong.

She shook her head, "Mm, nothing. Did you ever think about getting contacts?" Might as well change the topic.

"No, not really," Conan said, taking the ice pack away for a moment to move it around when the side he was holding began to drip some, "Too much hassle, I suppose. I can just put on my glasses and be done with it."

"It's not that much extra work," Ran contradicted, reaching up to take his glasses off. She stopped, however, when he leaned away from her. She dropped her hands to her lap; "Did your eyesight get any worse then from when you were a kid?"

"Umm…" his eyes averted to the floor. Was now the right time to tell her? When they were talking about glasses and contacts and poor eyesight? Or should he wait for another opportunity when the moment was a little more…perfect? Of course, he wasn't quite sure when the perfect moment would be to just up and tell her that he had been deceiving her the whole time she had known him.

When he looked at her closely (sometimes he didn't even have to examine that much), he could see all the pain in her eyes. She had waited for him for too long…and by the looks of it, she still seemed like she was waiting. He wondered if she even knew what she was waiting for anymore. It wasn't like he had called her in the past ten years; he thought she would be too heartbroken likes always afterward, and he (as Conan) wouldn't be there to comfort her and get her mind to focus on other things.

He often reprimanded himself for not calling her the night before she left for college. Would it have been easier for her if he had told her she could move on? Or would she feel shattered because she thought he didn't want her to wait any longer? How would he feel about it? Would it kill him to know he had sent her away to give her love to someone else when he could've had it all along? Did love and pain always have to go hand-in-hand?

"Conan-kun?" Ran waved her hand in front of his face, smiling slightly when he confusedly looked back at her, "You zoned out there for a moment."

"Oh…I was just thinking," he said, again turning the ice rag over.

"Mind sharing?" she asked, falling back against the couch, her form slumped slightly.

His eyes followed her, his heart speeding up when she smiled widely, urging him to go on. If he told her, would she ever speak to him again? Would she ever flash that smile of hers at him again?

"Ran…" he began, not sure how to go about the situation at all. He put the rag down on the coffee table, feeling more than a little awkward holding it and trying to have a serious talk at the same time. He watched as some of the liquid slithered out of the rag and onto the table, a small, thin stream zigzagging its way toward the edge of the table.

Slowly, he turned to her again, his eyes going to hers. Ran couldn't help but gasp at all the emotions she saw in those orbs of his…anguish, regret, and…something else that struck her hard…love.

"Conan…kun…" her voice was low, possibly a bit confused. She sat up straight again, now feeling a little worried. Conan always was more the serious type, managing to get peoples attention from one hard look. Reaching a hand up to his face, her eyes got wide when he quickly grabbed her wrist.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking from their hands to his face, feeling her heart begin to pound with anticipation, "What do you need to tell me, Conan-kun?"

He let go of her wrist, leaving her hand in midair while his own hands cupped her cheeks very lightly, taking note on her gasp of unexpectancy. His thumbs moved to caress her jaw line, his pupils dilating when they focused right in on her. They weren't sure if their breathing picked up or slowed down dramatically.

Ran's eyes shook, trying to find some kind of explanation in his gaze, "Conan-kun, why are you…" She stopped herself short when she felt her heart skip a beat. It was like her heart was trying to tell her something her mind did not pick up on. Blocking out her peripheral vision also, she narrowed her sight directly on him.

She looked right through his glasses and his teenage appearance. And, as odd as it was, she felt a certain wave of broken bliss wash over her. It was hard for her to tell if she was delighted or woeful, so she decided on disoriented.

Without realizing it, her heart took over her mind. She tilted her head up slightly to make him touch her more, her eyes going half-lidded. When she felt his breath so close to her, her stomach twirled and from her lips she spoke so softly:

"Shinichi…" Her eyes closed when she heard him let out a shaky breath. With the end of the last syllable, her lips stayed parted. Subconsciously, her hands found their way to his shoulders, unknowingly bringing him ever closer to her.

They tilted their heads slightly in different directions, both sucking in a deep breath when their lips barely met. Conan's fingers slid down to her neck, tickling the sensitive spot right under her ears.

Their moment ended way too soon, however, as they heard a loud knocking at the door.

They pulled away from each other, their eyes wide at what they just did.

"Ran! Ran, are you home?" A man's voice called from outside, his fists slamming into the door to get their attention.

"That…" was all Ran got out as she stared at Conan, a light blush on her cheeks. She stood up, still looking down at him, but eventually turned when the man continued to pound and call out for her.

As she began walking toward the door, she couldn't help but bring her fingers up to touch her lips, wondering if she had only imagined him kissing her.

__

'Why would I imagine that, though?' She asked herself, standing right in front of the door now. Her eyes held that far-off expression, _'We did kiss. But…why did I want it so badly? I-I mean…it's just Conan-kun…right?'_

She got snapped from her thoughts when the door was hit again. Suddenly feeling more than a little annoyed, she pulled the door open roughly and stood there with her hand on her hip.

"What do you—." Ran stopped when she saw who it was, "Oh…Takeru-kun…what are you doing here?"

Conan walked to the entryway of the kitchen, staying back so he could see who it was that had disturbed them. It figured that as soon as they began having a moment, someone would come to ruin it. His eyes narrowed, feeling a grudge already beginning for this guy Ran called "Takeru-kun".

__

'Wait a second…' Conan looked harder at the one that pushed himself inside the house, closing the door behind him. He got a quick flashback when he first went to Yoshori and saw Ran. She was talking to a few people and right before he went up to talk to her, a guy touched her arm before he left. _This _was the guy.

"I saw you on the news," Takeru spoke, running his fingers back through his short brown hair that seemed to hold too much gel, "I was at work and Mieko had the TV on." He explained, stepping forward even when she stepped back. He reached out to grip onto her upper arms, eyeing her closely, "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No, no, of course," Ran shook her head, flashing a small smile to back up her answer, "I'm just fine. I wasn't even—."

"Oh, who's this? Company?" Takeru interrupted when he looked around her and saw Conan leaning against the doorframe. He let go of Ran when she turned to look, but again rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Ran waved her hand to urge Conan forward, putting on another smile when he stepped forward, "Conan-kun, this is Enoki Takeru. Takeru-kun, this is Edogawa Conan." She introduced them to each other, looking back and forth between the two. Her smile faded fast when the men made eye contact with each other, obvious hateful sparks radiating off them.

"Umm…I used to baby-sit Conan-kun when he was younger," Ran explained, trying to make nice conversation when she felt the tension in the air.

Suddenly, Takeru looked a little relieved, his hand stretching out to shake Conan's, "Hey, I'm Ran's boyfriend."

Forgetting about being proper and returning the handshake, Conan's eyes shot right to Ran, surprise and worry reflecting in his eyes.

"Boyfriend…?" he repeated, a little unsure.

Ran stepped away from Takeru quickly, giving him a skeptical look, "Boyfriend? How come I didn't know about this?"

Conan felt his shoulders relax. Okay, so it wasn't true.

"You do," he replied, reaching out for her hand. His green eyes gave a short sparkle, "we went on many dates together."

With dull eyes, Ran crossed her arms, "They were all _business_ dates."

Takeru shrugged, quickly fixing his dark blue tie, "It was leading up to the real thing."

"Just who exactly are you trying to impress?" she asked incredulously, looking at him in shock, "You never act like this any other time."

Without realizing it, Takeru's eyes wandered over to Conan. He cleared his throat quickly, however, and turned back to Ran, "I don't know what you're talking about. This is how I always am."

Sighing quietly, Ran dropped her arms to her sides. She shook her head, "All right, just forget I mentioned it."

When she paused, Conan noticed that she looked toward him, slightly bewildered when he saw unspoken desire hidden in her eyes. She wanted to be alone again just as much as he did. He turned to Takeru again, opening his mouth to speak.

"Shouldn't you get back to work now, Takeru?" She asked first, walking around the kitchen table, "I really am okay, and that's what you came over here for, so…"

Takeru was silent for a moment before he shook his head, "You got it wrong, Ran, I don't know who _you're _trying to impress…except maybe this teenybopper here."

Conan narrowed his eyes at the man, but kept silent. He knew that if he commented, it could lead into an argument. If he stayed silent, it would make him leave sooner. And, as he saw, Takeru did look a little disappointed when Conan didn't say anything.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ran," Takeru mumbled before turning and letting himself out. He slammed the door a little roughly behind him, but it didn't seem to faze Conan or Ran any.

"Sorry about that," Ran said after a moment, walking back around the table to him, "I guess some guys can become a whole different person when they're jealous. He's usually quite shy."

Conan gave a small laugh of amusement before his abused chin wouldn't allow him to stretch his lips, "What's he jealous of? I didn't even say anything."

Ran shrugged and smiled, her left hand now holding onto her right wrist in front of her, "Well…it's obvious that he likes me and I guess he doesn't like the idea of you being here with me…alone."

As soon as she said that, they remembered the situation they were in. They couldn't seem to look each other in the eye for a moment, searching the ground for something else of interest. Of course, it's kind of hard to do when your mind is elsewhere.

Finally, Conan couldn't take the awkward silence anymore and looked up, "Ran, I have to tell you that—."

"Do you wanna go somewhere?" she asked suddenly, almost as though she didn't even want to think about talking about what he was about to bring up.

"H-huh?" he stammered, raising an eyebrow at her as she walked past him and into the living room again.

She picked up the ice rag that had melted some on the table, handing it to him when he walked over to her. She then continued on through the living room and into the hall, "Hold that to your jaw for a few more minutes. I'm just going to get changed and we can walk to the park or something."

"But Ran…" he trailed off when he watched her round the bend to go to her room. He sighed and fell back on the couch, holding the rag to his face like she told him to do. Staring at nothing in particular, his mind drifted back to when they kissed.

__

'Did she call me Shinichi…or was that my imagination?' He tried to think hard, back to that exact moment, _'Darn, I can remember any other little thing, but I can't seem to recall what she said. Is my mind playing tricks on me?' _He wandered if she even knew what she called him. If she did call him Shinichi, was she aware that she said the wrong name (which was actually the right name)?

He closed his eyes and pinched the top of his nose. He should have just told her then, when he had her full attention. Then again, he blamed it on himself when he touched her and got her distracted.

Conan looked up when he heard "Ready" coming from her. She walked in wearing a loose T-shirt and denim shorts. He stood and stated the he was ready also, putting the rag in the sink before they left.

lllllllllllllllllll

"I found this one place in the woods awhile back," Ran explained, her hands clasped behind her back as they walked along a trail in the middle of the park, "I'm sure other people know about it, but I've never seen anyone else there when I was."

Conan nodded, realizing how muggy that air had gotten. It had turned into a humid day, no breeze to blow cool air. Everything was still, birds scarcely even heard.

"It's not far from here," Ran went on, walking a little faster when she was eager to get there. "Don't expect too much, though, it's basically just an open field. But it's somewhere to get away."

As Ran had said, it wasn't too long before she turned into the woods, going off the trail. The shrubs were pushed to the side some, showing that Ran definitely did take this way a lot. He followed behind her, ducking when the tree limbs were too low. He smiled when Ran jogged ahead, hearing her laugh when she must have came upon her little spot.

Pushing back a few more limbs, Conan finally came out of the woods, seeing the big field she said about. The grass looked high, but flowed along the ground. There was a fallen tree off to the side, and a stump right in front of it that looked like it could almost be a seat.

Just as he thought this, Ran went over to it and sat down, patting the spot next to her for him to follow. He did so, grinning when she rested back against the fallen tree, her dark eyes looking up to the sky filled with clouds before closing her lids.

"You really like it here, don't you?" Conan asked, looking across the meadow in time to see a couple white rabbits hop into the woods.

"Mm-hm, it's a place where I can just go to be alone, you know? A place where I can think in peace," She crossed her arms over her stomach, playing absent-mindedly with the bottom of her shirt.

"I know what you mean," Conan agreed, remembering how he used to go back to his own house and just wander around. He liked to look at things to reminisce on the past about all the good times he and Ran had. Even though when he was a lot younger, he really didn't think he would have a romantic relationship with her, he always pictured the two of them together, best friends forever.

Of course, things happen and destiny takes different turns for each person. Who knows what they could've accomplished together in the last ten years.

"So what kind of things do you think about here?" He asked, leaning back against the tree also and resting his hands on his stomach, looking up to the sky.

"Different things," she answered, "Work, my dreams, my parents…" she paused and let out a sigh, "Shinichi…"

Not too surprised that she said this, he turned his head to look at her, noticing how the sun disappeared behind some clouds, the light on the ground being chased away by shadows. He was about to ask exactly what she thought, but she beat him to it.

"I just wonder what he's up to nowadays…I mean, does he ever think about me anymore?" Her brows narrowed some when she thought about the possibility that maybe he didn't.

Again, Conan was about to speak, but she didn't give him a chance. He decided to just hear her out, considering it seemed she had been waiting a long time to tell someone this.

"I know it's a little weird to still think about him as much as I do, but, well…can you blame me? We knew each other almost all our lives and then we suddenly get split apart. Who knows if we would have grown apart on our own, but it would've been a lot easier, if it was gradual. But…for some reason, I don't think we would have grown apart. We were just too close."

Conan watched her lips as she spoke, seeing as how her eyes were closed. In his mind, he agreed with everything she was saying.

"Though I didn't mean to, I fell hard for him. It's like…one day we were just friends and when I saw him the next day…there seemed to be this certain light around him. He looked at me differently and then I began to look at him differently. It seemed like it was some sort of bond."

__

'Ran, we fell in love with each other on the same day. That's a pretty big bond.'

"I talked about him a lot to the people I met around here. They could tell I loved him right off the bat. The girls were always daydreaming with me, coming up with all these possible ways that he could come back to me. Some were outrageous, like him coming on a white horse," she laughed and Conan smiled, "but some were simple like…like how you suddenly showed up, Conan-kun." Her eyes opened and she glanced over at him.

Their eyes made contact and they smiled at each other, but only before Ran suddenly hopped off the stump. He sat up quickly, watching her as she outspread her arms and twirled around a few times, her face titled towards the heavens.

"I had dreams about it over and over. Sometimes I thought I actually felt him beside me," she stopped and wrapped her arms around herself, almost as though she were imagining him holding her.

"The guys I met here, however…" Her smile faded some and her arms dropped to her sides, "They all tell me I should get over it. They all think I'm crazy for waiting so many years. 'If he didn't show up at least five years ago, he's never going to come,'" She mocked, laughing a little at her impersonation.

"Especially Takeru…he wants me to forget Shinichi so bad…saying that it's not healthy for me to be obsessed like this," Ran turned back towards Conan, sadness in her eyes, "But I'm not obsessed, am I? There's no such thing as loving someone too much, is there? It's not my fault I still hear his voice calling out to me sometimes, is it?"

Conan stood up quickly and shook his head, "Ran, that's—."

"I know Takeru likes me, but doesn't he know it hurts when he says stuff like that? He has asked me out many times, but I always refuse those formal ones…and he knows why, too. Like everyone's always told me, I'm always going to have this devotion in me that keeps me from saying yes to other guys. I always tell myself," Ran chuckled here, as though she found herself a little crazy also, "'What if I do go out with a guy and then Shinichi shows up again?' I don't want anyone else while he's around. Actually…I don't want anyone else, period."

Tears stood in her eyes by now, as she waved her arms out to the side before dropping them again. It was a gesture to show that she was confused, "Am I going to be like this forever? Why…why…"

She never got her question out as two lone tears slipped from her eyes, quickly sliding down her cheeks. As though nature noticed her change of emotion, it too changed. The air was no longer still and thick; a huge gush of air suddenly blew through the area, causing Ran's hair to fly to one side. The grass looked like waves in an ocean, different shades of green flowing through each lock.

The clouds in the sky went from white to gray, rain beginning to pour down.

__

'Guess we're getting that rain they predicted…' Conan thought when a couple drops landed on his face.

Ran didn't seem to notice the shower she was receiving, even after the rain picked up dramatically. The two got soaked almost instantly, their hair matting to their heads. Conan's vision blurred when rain splattered on his glasses, wishing that Agasa had also put in little wipers for his lenses.

He still managed to see Ran, however, when he lifted his head, seeing her smiling at him. He took a step towards her, reaching out a hand to tell her that they should head back before a bad storm came.

"Sometimes it's comforting to just stand in the rain, Conan-kun," she said when she didn't put her hand in his. She spread her arms out again and tilted her head back to let the rainfall on her cheeks, "Then I wonder if Shinichi is standing out in the rain, too, thinking about me. Does he want to hold me and warm me as much as I want him to?"

With his own eyes saddening, it wasn't too hard to imagine that the raindrops were hiding the tears that were streaming down his own face, "I know he does, Ran. I'm sure his mind is on nothing else right now."

Ran looked back to him, a certain realization clicking in. She finally walked towards him, beaming gently as she took his hand in hers. With her free hand, she reached up to brush back some of his hair that got plastered to his forehead and temples, hardly being able to see his eyes from all the water.

"Let's go back home now, Conan-kun," she voiced, pulling him close to her as she turned to head back in the woods.


	6. Cherished Items

**__**

Over the Years

V.

Conan and Ran laughed as they entered the house. They practically ran all the way home, though it was fruitless from the start. They were soaked to the core almost as soon as the rain began.

Ran had to stop at some moments along the way when she felt like doing a little twist or turn in the rain. Conan couldn't help but smile some every time Ran jumped in a puddle, splashing water up around her. He wasn't quite sure what he did or said; if anything, but Ran was a whole bundle of emotions today. One minute she was happy, then the next she was melancholy. Either way, he tried his best to keep her in a good mood.

Once they were out of the rain, they remained in the kitchen, looking down at all the water they dragged in. Water was dripping quickly off their clothes, their hair, and even their skin. Their shoes left many footprints on the white tile. Nevertheless, a grin remained on their lips.

"That was the best walk home I've had in awhile," Ran commented, her laugh coming out a bit shaky when her teeth began to clatter. She wrapped her arms around herself, her lips quivering, "You don't realize how cold you are until you step into a warm place."

Conan nodded, "That's for sure." He turned away from her for a moment, reaching up to take his glasses off so he could wipe away the droplets. When his fingers touched his face, he made himself shiver. He wasn't sure which was colder, his face or his hands. He wiped his glasses with the end of his shirt, though it only seemed to smear the rain. His shirt was too wet to do the job, so he had to grab a towel that was on the counter.

Ran watched him, though he was turned away from her. _'I wonder why he never wanted me to see him with his glasses off. Is it really that big of a deal?' _She shook her head and smiled when he turned back to her, his glasses clear once again. "Do you want to take a shower first?"

"No, you go ahead," Conan offered, slipping his shoes off that seemed stuck to his socks and left them on the mat beside the door.

Ran did the same thing, also taking off her socks so she wouldn't leave as big a water trail behind her. She walked to the doorway before stopping, smirking over her shoulder at Conan. He eyed her strangely as she tilted and dipped her head to one side, her long, wet hair falling over her shoulder. Before he knew it, she whipped her head back, sending a large spray of water at him.

"Hey!" He yelled playfully, bringing his hands up out of instinct. He laughed when he saw her jog out of the kitchen, trying to get to the bathroom as quickly as she could, "I'm going to get the couch all wet now!" he threatened.

"You better not!" she yelled back before she slammed the door closed. He soon heard the shower being turned on and looked around the kitchen. Basically, he was confined to the room if he didn't want to get anything else wet. He thought about running to his room and changing, but really didn't want to switch his clothes until after he got a hot shower.

In the mean time, he decided to put the kettle on and make himself some hot tea. He poured water into it and then placed it atop a burner, turning the switch to light the flame. Conan looked down and realized he was causing the kitchen to get wetter every time he moved. He didn't want to leave it all to Ran, so he decided to help out as he waited for the water to boil.

So he wouldn't make more of a mess after he cleaned, he took of his socks, then his shirt, then his jeans. The clothing stuck to him like a second layer of skin, but after he managed to get himself free from the restraints, he shivered noticeably when the warm air hit his naked skin. He still wore his blue boxers, blushing a little when he noticed how wet they were and how they too clung to him.

__

'Oh well,' he figured, dropping his clothing in a pile on top of his shoes, _'Ran saw me in worse situations. She'll be too embarrassed to look, anyway.' _He joked to himself, laughing out loud. He grabbed the towel he wiped his glasses off with and dropped it to the floor. With his foot, he moved the rag around where there were large amounts of water.

"At least the kitchen's getting cleaned," he reasoned. A long time ago, he began to not even try to complain about cleaning up the house or making himself something to eat. After Ran left, that left him with Kogorou. One learns how to take care of himself very quickly living with someone like Ran's father.

Of course, he was sure he was pretty responsible when he lived by himself as Shinichi. Then again, his parents sent him more then enough money and he was hardly home to use up much electricity or make a mess. His day, back then, usually consisted of being woken up by Dr. Agasa, going to school, then working on a crime or hanging out with Ran. By the time he returned home, he fell asleep soon after.

Living with Kogorou, however, taught him more responsibility than he ever had at home. When a case didn't show itself for awhile, Mouri-san would start drinking…and seem to never stop drinking. For awhile, Conan tried to ignore how messy he was making the place, figuring Kogorou would clean up after himself sometime. Conan soon learned, however, that that wouldn't be the case. Over time, it got very difficult, if not impossible, to ignore the untidiness. He felt like he was living in a pigsty. So, he took over Ran's position of being the maid.

Not only that, but Kogorou wouldn't cook for anything. When he was hungry, he ordered take-out, hardly getting anything for Conan in the process. Conan was sure that over time, Mouri-san would have taken notice to the boy's lack of food, but Conan wouldn't wait around for his hospitality. He soon learned how to cook half-decent meals for himself, having to take some of Kogorou's money to go shopping.

Conan began to wonder how Eri was able to stick around as long as she did. He didn't know how anyone could put up with it. Many times, he thought about just moving into his old house, or moving in with Dr. Agasa. Sometimes, he even thought about moving across seas to live with his parents. Alas, despite his options, he stayed with Kogorou. Dr. Agasa talked him into it, saying that the men he was searching for could be caught any day.

The professor always did have a knack for filling him with false hope.

So he waited and waited, and eventually, when he turned thirteen, Inspector Megure finally realized how bright Conan really was.

"You're like a young replacement of Kudou," the inspector commented. Soon, calls were ringing in to the Mouri residence, people asking for Conan's help instead of Kogorou's. Of course, the guy became enraged and jealous, soon making a large habit to always be by the phone so he would be the first to answer.

"Edogawa Conan is not in right now, but I, Mouri Kogorou, will gladly come to your assistance!" Conan overheard him doing this almost immediately, causing him to become infuriated also. That's what made the two of them begin despising each other even more.

Every time Conan looked back on it, he had to laugh. It was humorous how hard Mouri-san tried to keep his popularity that Conan had built up for him over time. Megure tried and tried to give Kogorou another chance to prove himself, but the pitiful detective just couldn't get anything going without the help of Conan. However, it became more apparent to Megure that Conan was the one actually doing all the work, no matter how much Conan tried to inconspicuously throw the information over to Kogorou. It was hopeless.

Inspector Megure soon made Conan part of his team, and the rest was history.

Back to the present, Conan heard the kettle begin whistling. He grabbed a cup and a tea bag, then pouring the steaming liquid. He pulled out a chair and sat down, wrapping his hands around the cup to send warmth through his body. His eyes stared deeply into the steam that rose from the tea, surprised when he heard himself mumble Ran's name.

He found it ironic how she somehow made his life a living hell, and yet he would never dream of a life without her. Ran was the main reason (sometimes seeming like the only reason) that he wanted to be himself again, to be Shinichi again. No one else seemed to miss him too much, and either way, he got cases solved.

If it weren't for her, he would have forgotten about Shinichi a long time ago. He would have gone to live with his parents as Conan and just grew up in another childhood, forgetting the life he had built before. Of course, he still wanted to be a detective either way. His lives were so different, yet so alike that he often got _himself _confused.

Sometimes he wished he could've just forgotten everything from his past; after all, being a child wasn't always as bad as he made it out to be.

However, there was always Ran. She was the one that always talked about him and mentioned him, making it impossible for him to forget who he really was. She was the reason he didn't lose himself completely in his deceitful façade.

He didn't know what he would do after she left for college. Not having her around did drop his spirit quite a bit, and that's when he decided to make Edogawa Conan well known. Hearing almost everyone he met call him Conan, knowing they knew him as Conan, made him begin to believe he was no one else but Conan.

Ran was still part of his life, nevertheless. She had taken care of him for some time, and he loved her for that. And when he finally decided to travel across the country to meet up with her again, he was determined to get her to see him as Conan and no one else.

That plan failed miserably and quickly. As soon as they saw each other, he knew she saw him as Shinichi before Conan, and he couldn't help but see Shinichi in her eyes. It worried him that he saw more of himself in her eyes than in his own, and he soon felt his old self emerge once again.

He had a hard time pretending he was Conan when he found out she was still in love with him. He had to laugh at the thought of pretending. About seven years ago, he could've sworn he was done pretending…and now he found himself to be pretending to be someone he had been for over ten years.

It was plain to see that Ran loved him, but he wasn't sure if she loved Conan or the Shinichi in him. He was sure it was both and was surprised when he felt jealous of himself. How would Shinichi feel if he found out that Ran had fallen in love with the bow-tie-kid she used to look after? How would Conan feel if he got together with Ran, but found out that Ran was still in love with Shinichi?

The whole concept confused and frustrated him, so he tried to clear his mind of it. He heard the shower shut off, so he quickly drank the rest of his tea. It had cooled down some, where it was still warm enough to heat his insides, but cool enough so as not to burn his tongue.

He stood and put his cup in the sink, just as he heard the bathroom door open.

"All yours, Conan-kun," she called to him, walking down the hall to her bedroom, her body wrapped in a big, fluffy white towel, another one wrapped around her head for her hair to dry.

Conan grabbed his wet clothes and made his way across the living room to the bathroom, "I made some tea so the water might still be…" He trailed off when he happened to look down the hall, seeing Ran standing in her doorway with just a towel on. "Warm…" He finally finished, a deep blush coming to his face. He looked away quickly and stepped into the warm bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Ran stood frozen in place for a moment, finding it odd that she couldn't take her eyes off Conan as he stood there. When he entered the bathroom, she couldn't help but blush herself. Slowly, she took a few steps back so she could shut her door.

"It really has been a long wait," she said lowly to herself, sitting on the side of her bed to allow herself to dry a little longer. Her fingers gripped onto the top of the towel tightly, the cool bed sheets feeling comforting against her thighs. Her gaze wandered over to the wall where the door to her closet was when she heard him start the water.

She felt her heart rate speed up against her hand she held to her chest, a certain warmth rising throughout her body.

"Why…why am I feeling this way?" she questioned herself, looking in front of her where her mirror stood. She saw how frightened and curious she looked, and yet she also saw a certain…glazed look in her eyes. Her body shivered and she realized that she hadn't felt this way since…since the night before she was to leave for college. She recalled having a dream that Shinichi came to say goodbye and…

The blush returned to her cheeks, this time traveling down to her neck and chest. The redness continued on behind the towel.

Quickly, she stood and went to her dresser to take out pajamas, since she wasn't planning on going anywhere else due to the weather. She dropped the towel and changed into her nightclothes, rubbing the towel against her head to dry her hair some more, before pulling the towel off and flicking her hair from side to side, deciding to let it air dry.

With her two wet towels, she exited her room and decided to take them down to the basement where the washer and dryer were. Ran made her way into the kitchen, walking to the left of the front door where there was another door that almost blended in with the walls. She never bothered to show or tell Conan about it, since it really wasn't that interesting in the first place.

She opened the door and walked to the basement, throwing the towels in the washer. She didn't want to wash them yet, for there were still her clothes and Conan's clothes to wash. She opened the dryer and took out their clothes that she had washed earlier that morning before Conan woke up and before she went to the office. Seeing as how they were dry, she took them back upstairs with her.

Dropping her clothes off in her room, she walked down the hall, debating if she should either just lay his clothes in front of his door or put them on his bed. Ran was sure he wouldn't get angry if she was just bringing him his clothes, so she pushed his door open and walked in.

Right away, she was hit with his smell. _'Amazing how he's only been here a couple days, and yet it's like his presence has always been here.' _She slowly walked across the room, feeling weird about how she felt when her feet touched the carpet. _'Was the carpet always this soft?' _She stopped when she reached the side of his bed, looking down at the untidy sheets.

She shook her head, "Can't even make your own bed yet, Conan-kun?" She giggled softly and placed the clothing on the night table so she could make his bed. She laid the sheet down, then the blanket, then the comforter, also fixating the pillow so it looked fluffier.

Ran had the urge to lay down, but knew that if she did, she might not want to get up. Sighing softly, she picked up his clothes again, about to put them on the bed. She paused before she did so, however, when she looked over to his dresser. Ran concluded to just put his clothes away for him.

She decided to start at the bottom and work her way up to see which drawer the clothing belonged in. When she pulled out the bottom drawer, she was surprised to see a lot of little odds and ends instead of clothes.

Looking over her shoulder, she listened carefully to make sure the water was still running. When she heard that it was, she turned back around to stare into the drawer. The curious part of her wanted to look through to see what things Conan cherished enough to keep. The honest part of her, however, told her to mind her own business and don't look through other people's personal stuff.

She sided with her honest self and began closing the drawer. That is, however, until her eye caught something that held her attention. Without realizing it, she pulled the drawer open wider and slowly reached it.

"A red string…?" she handled the string with such gentleness, one would thing she was holding glass. She remembered this red string. There was no way she could ever forget it.

She looked in the drawer again; taking out a little brown box that the red string was on top of. She rested it softly on the carpet, opening the box with shaky fingers. She saw what looked like an old wrapper and picked it up, realizing it was the wrapper that covered the chocolate she made the one year for Valentine's Day. She saw Shinichi's name printed on it by her. She recalled sharing the chocolate with Conan instead, since Shinichi never showed up that day.

Ran looked in again and pulled out an envelope that was addressed to Shinichi, though she put her father's address on it. She was hoping Conan would see Shinichi sometime and give it to him, and she wasn't sure if this proved that he didn't or…

She recalled the conversation she had with Conan in the restaurant. She asked him if he had heard anything from Shinichi after she left and he said no. So she assumed that there was no way Conan could have delivered it to him…but why would Conan carry the letter around with him? She hoped she didn't burden him when she put her trust in him to hand the envelope off.

Setting the items aside, she looked deeper into the box and pulled out another envelope. This one was blank, but by the feel of it, it held a letter. She opened the unsealed flap and carefully took out the paper inside, taking note on how old it looked. For some reason, she felt her pulse quicken as she unfolded the paper, a lump caught in her throat when her eyes began to scan over the words.

Her eyes widened and she gasped. She had to rest her hand down on the carpet to steady herself from falling, tears burning behind her lids. Her head whipped to the side when she heard the shower shut off. Quickly, she put all the stuff back as she had found it. Her hands were shaking so badly that she dropped the box inside the drawer, instead of resting it gently.

She grimaced and held her breath for a moment, hoping that he didn't hear anything. She closed the drawer. Instead of trying to find which drawer his clothes belonged in now, she just picked them up and put them on his bed, rushing herself out of his room, and closing the door slightly behind her.

Tiptoeing down the hall, she went through the living room and into the kitchen, getting herself a cup and pouring the water Conan said he had heated. She slumped down in a chair, feeling her whole body still shaking and her heartbeat racing. She raised a trembling hand to her temple, resting her elbow on the table.

__

'I can't believe this…what…did I read it wrong? Why did it…did I…how? I can't even think straight…' She felt a single tear finally slip down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away when she heard Conan come out of the bathroom. Now she felt her stomach tighten in such an uncomfortable knot, it made her feel somewhat hungry, yet the thought of eating made her sick.

A couple minutes later, Conan came into the kitchen, looking refreshed in his loose flannel pants and tee-shirt. He was rubbing his hand through his hair, a big smile on his face, "Ah, that feels much better."

He glanced at Ran and, even though she wasn't looking at him, he knew something was wrong right away. He stepped closer to her, "Ran? Something wrong?"

"No," she said, maybe a little too quickly. She looked down at her tea, but the thought of drinking it made her stomach twist. She stood up from her chair and went to the sink. Instead of just dumping it out and having him ask why she didn't drink any, she turned the faucet on to act like she was cleaning out her cup. The water overfilled the cup and covered the tea, allowing her to empty the cup out down the drain.

"Ran?" He was right behind her now and her body froze.

"I'm fine, Conan-kun, just a little…tired," she tried her best to let out a short chuckle, "the rain always makes me a bit sleepy."

"Oh," Conan relaxed, his shoulders slumping. He thought it was worse then that, "Well, did you want to watch some TV and relax, then? I bet there's a good movie on that we could—."

"Actually…" she interrupted, turning around quickly to look him in the eye for a single moment, "I'm thinking about laying down for awhile. I can hardly keep my eyes open." She shifted her eyes around the room before trying to get past him, being stopped abruptly when he grabbed her arm.

"Ran, something's wrong. Why won't you tell me?" His eyes begged for her to open up to him, to tell him what had changed her mood since he was in the shower. He remembered earlier when he saw how her moods were changing and figured she was just going through some kind of mood swing period…but she didn't try to throw him off like this.

"I don't know, Conan, why won't you tell me?" She shot back at him, a little harsher then she intended. She felt bad when she saw the pain flash through his eyes as he let her go. He noticed that she didn't use the honorific with his name, and that made him worry more.

Her eyes saddened and, she found, no matter how angry she was at him, she always felt bad afterward if she saw that she hurt him. She sighed lowly and looked away, "Listen, I really am tired. I…I'm just gonna lay down for a bit. I'll feel better afterward," she explained, turning and walking back towards her room.

Conan watched her go, not being able to find the courage to go after her or tell her to stop. Fear clenched his heart.

"What did she find out…?"

Hello! It's me…just wanted to apologize to all of you for the long wait. Classes started again, so it seemed to take up a lot of my time and drain me when I did have free time.

In the last chapter, tively-split mentioned that I could have done a lot better job on it. After I reread it, I have to kinda agree. But I wanted to write one more chapter before school started again, because I knew it might be awhile before I got the chance to write again (as everyone has noticed). So, I admit that I did write the chapter quite quickly. Alas…I know that is no excuse. I'm glad you all enjoyed it pretty well though.

Another side note that had me laughing for a moment. He mentioned that "unexpectancy" wasn't a word. Yes…I knew this. I do have my word on spell checker, but…being a writer, I felt it was okay to come up with my own words, because I wanted it in there. Just like how these places use words like "olde" and "shoppe". What's up with that? Maybe I'm missing something…

Anyway, I'm sorry this chapter may seem a little boring, but I had a hard time coming up with what I should put in this chapter. So, in a way, it's basically a filler chapter, something that will lead up to an upcoming chapter.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	7. Knowledgeable Lies

**__**

Over the Years

VI.

About a week passed with Ran and Conan hardly seeing each other. Conan couldn't help but put the blame on Ran, for she seemed to be avoiding him. The day she confessed everything out in the rain was the last day he had a full conversation with her. After his shower, she began acting indifferent, simply claiming that she was busy with work.

Somehow, Ran always awoke before him and left to the office either before he got up, or just when he was getting up. At first he thought it was strange that she had different schedules. Usually people set a certain time to leave their house and would know the exact time in which they would arrive at work. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she just didn't want to talk to him in the morning, however.

Morning wasn't the only time, though. Ran came home late at night, sometimes not coming in the door until about midnight. Conan would stay awake in his room for as long as he could, some nights falling asleep against his will from trying to stay up so late the night before, then waking up so early the next morning.

He could hear her coming home, trying to make herself extra quiet. Of course, sometimes when one tries to be quiet, they're actually pretty loud. Conan thought about getting up to greet her, and one time in the middle of the week, actually did.

"Hey, Ran," he welcomed her, walking into the kitchen while stretching his arms out to the side, "it's almost midnight, I was getting a little worried."

He noticed that she avoided his eyes and that only put an ache in his heart all over again. He almost wished he'd stayed in bed and just let her go about her usual routine, the one she had before he came waltzing back into her life.

"You don't have to worry about me, Conan-kun…I just got really caught up in the case I was working on. I'm sure you know how that can be." Of course, he did know how one could lose track of time when working on a case, but he didn't like the way she pounded the last statement on him, like he was the one that caused her to get so wrapped up in her work.

Conan laughed a bit nervously, "Yeah, they can get pretty frustrating."

Ran nodded in agreement, "They can get tiring, too. So if you don't mind, I'm going to bed now," she walked around him, heading towards her bedroom without looking back, "Got to get up early again tomorrow."

He didn't try to stop her. He was scared that she wouldn't want to listen. Conan did notice that she looked completely drained of energy and didn't want to upset her anymore by asking her something personal that she didn't want to talk about.

The thought crossed his mind to just wait until her case ended, then try to talk to her when she looked more enthused to sit and chat with him. By the way she seemed, however, the case was getting nowhere. Surely she was working with others, right? Surely they got _somewhere _with it.

Rain continued to pour down endlessly the whole week, the best thing being when it merely sprinkled for five hours. Then it came pounding down again. Usually, Conan loved the rain, but every drop that beat the roof, the windows, and the streets felt like it was drilling a deeper hole into his head. He wracked his brain trying to think of something offensive he might have said or done to Ran that made her start acting this way. For once, he was stumped.

On the seventh day of these happenings, Conan was beginning to get fed up with her bitterness towards him. She never snapped at him outright, but she seemed to know just the right words to throw at him that gave him an uneasy feeling of guilt.

He waited up in his room, a small lamp on and the bed neatly made. He refused to lay down and let the rain lull him to sleep like it had the last few nights. Conan tried to read one of his favorite mystery novels, figuring that would keep him interested enough until whatever time she came home. No such luck. Despite himself, he found it humorous that for once, his mind could not focus on the book.

Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was a little after twelve-thirty. He was just about to give up when he heard the front door open.

He decided to wait a couple minutes, repeating some of the words in his head that he wanted to say to her. His heart began pounding faster, not sure what the conversation could lead to. Would she say something that would make him regret ever coming to visit her?

Just as his hand was on the doorknob, he heard a slight pound, like someone running into a wall.

Cautiously, he opened the door, peeking outside into the hallway. He saw Ran at the other end, her forehead pressed to the wall, her eyes closed. Her fists rested on the wall on each side of her head, her knuckles turning white. The pain on her face was obvious, even from Conan's perspective.

He was just about to go to her when she pulled her fists away from the wall, only to slam them back against the board, small indents becoming apparent from her strength. That was what made him pause, not being able to help but wonder if Ran was imagining the wall was he.

She remained deathly still for another moment before pushing herself away, her body wobbling before she caught hold of her doorknob. He heard her let out an agonizing moan before she opened the door and disappeared within her room, leaving her door halfway open.

That's what made him begin to wonder. _'She always closes her door. No matter how tired she was, she always remembered to do it. If she's half as angry as I think she is, she would have slammed it shut.' _Curiosity and worry took over his fear of getting pounded as he exited his room.

When he reached her room, he slowly looked around the corner to where her bed was. She was already laying on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms circled around herself. Sadness clouded his vision when he noticed how vulnerable she looked; also taking note that she was still wearing her office clothes, which included her shoes.

"Ran?" he whispered, wondering if she was still awake.

When she didn't answer, he stepped further into the room; "Ran?" he called again, wincing when he noticed how loud his voice seemed when he wasn't whispering.

Again, she didn't answer. He assumed that she was so worn out, as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out.

Conan walked to the side of her bed and gently grabbed her feet, pulling them towards him. Since she was wearing heels, a simple slip off the foot was enough to discard the shoes to the floor. She seemed to have no inclination of what was going on, only a little moan coming out through her parted lips.

Ran was lying on the blankets, so it took a little extra work to pick up a certain spot of her to get the blankets out from underneath her. When he slid his hand under her back to make her sit up, her head turned towards him, her eyes opening slightly. He saw how glassy her eyes looked, a shiny glint showing through her lids.

She moaned something that sounded almost like his name and that's when he felt the strong scent on her.

His eyes widened as he stared down at her, his arm still wrapped around her. She closed her eyes again and her head slumped against his arm.

"Ran," he addressed her in a harsh whisper, "were you drinking?" Though he asked it, he couldn't say he was expecting an answer. She was already out again. Going by her smell, he figured she didn't drink too much. He only picked it up when she spoke, letting out breaths as she did. He knew from experience that she didn't inherit her father's gene to hold alcohol too well; only a half a cup of whiskey being enough to knock her out.

__

'Why is she resorting to this? I hope it was just some dumb party they were throwing at the office that had alcohol.' Since he couldn't do anything else about the situation at the moment, he decided to let it go and question her about it some other time. _'Great, just something else I have to confront her with.'_

He finally pulled the blankets past her back, then sliding his arm under her thighs to lift the lower half of her body. The blankets came down all the way to her feet, only to come right back up to her chin. She still seemed a little wet from the run from her car to the house and he didn't want her catching a cold. He was sure that was the last thing she needed right now.

Staring down at her, he couldn't help but let his feelings rise to the surface. His deep blue eyes filled with love and devotion as he leaned down and lightly planted a kiss on her cheek, allowing himself to linger a little longer than he thought he should have. A light cry emitted from her lips, making him pull away.

With one final glance back, he closed her door, ready to go to sleep himself.

llllllllllllllllllll

The next day began just like any other. Conan woke up and Ran was already gone. He had a different plan for today, however, and that was meeting her at work. If she wouldn't go to him, he simply had to go to her. He was going to put an end to this gap that formed between them once and for all.

One thing he noticed she didn't have in her house was flowers. So, he concluded to go to the local bouquet shop and pick out a dozen for her, almost all a different type of flower. Amongst the mix, he added two roses, one red and one yellow.

Conan had to run in the rain for almost two blocks from his car to the shop and back again. The problem was that the bouquet shop was located on a side street, most of which were closed due to flooding. At first, he wasn't even going to bother trying to see if the shop was open, but felt determined enough to do so.

It was quite a surprise to find that the little shop was the only store open on the street. When he opened the door, a little bell rang twice, making his presence known to the owner.

A woman that looked to be about fifty came out from the back room, her eyes showing her surprise.

"Wow, a customer," she commented, smiling gently with small wrinkles forming at the side of her mouth and eyes, "didn't think anyone would come here on such a day." Her smile widened when Conan walked forward, his shoes squeaking over the floor, "Must be a pretty special girl to go through the trouble, neh?" She winked.

Conan felt a comfortable blush that warmed his whole body, making him shiver noticeably from the climate change, "Yeah, well…it takes dedication to keep the store open at a time like this."

The woman nodded as Conan began looking around, "Yes, but you just never know when customers will come in. It's when it's all dreary outside that people need a little perking up, even if it is just with flowers." She watched as Conan picked out four random flower types to start his masterpiece, "I like to be open as much as I can. I'm sure you would have been more then a little angry if you ran all this way to see it was closed, hm?"

Conan chuckled and picked out a few more, "You have no idea. Then I would have had to try to think of another gift."

She laughed softly at his joke, getting a tie to twist around all the slightly shortened stems, then wrapping pretty iridescent paper around them, the top flowing out to the sides to display the flowers nicely.

Conan paid for them and went back outside. He held the flowers close to him gently as he ran down the streets back to his car.

About time he made it to Yoshori, water was dripping off him as heavily as it had the day he and Ran got caught out in the rain. He knew it would take him forever to dry, so didn't bother to wait around in the main lobby for that to happen. Conan simply wiped his shoes on the entry carpet before heading toward the elevator.

As he heard the beep resound, telling him he was on the floor her office was on, he received a strong sense of déjà vu. It was like the first time he had arrived here, what with the rabbits in his heart, the butterflies in his stomach, and the bees in his head.

He couldn't help but feel a little silly as he stepped out of the elevator, many eyes focusing in on him as he stood there with a dozen flowers in hand. They all began whispering, surely wondering who they were for. His ears picked up on Ran's name every now and then. He figured some people might have seen him the one day with her, or she told some of her friends about him.

He wondered if they heard good or bad things.

Conan walked around the bend to where the door to her office stood, glad when he saw the empty secretary chair. _'Good, she's off doing other things. Don't have to worry about her breaking the surprise.'_

He walked up to her door, suddenly feeling a little awkward standing there, dripping wet. Maybe he should have just went back to her place and placed them on the kitchen table for when she came home. He wanted to see her reaction, however, and wasn't sure if her mind would completely focus on the gift if she was tired.

"This is ridiculous," he mumbled to himself, lifting his hand to knock, but paused before he did so. He heard her voice inside and thought that maybe she was having a meeting with someone. Not hearing another voice though, he began thinking she was just on the phone.

Taking the chance, he very quietly cracked the door ajar, one eye peering in to see what was going on. At first, he only had the viewpoint to see the edge of her desk, but she soon walked to that exact spot. Conan could see and hear that she was talking nonstop, but he couldn't make out the words she was saying, for she was speaking too low. Her hands were flying all over the place with emotion, her eyes suddenly becoming red and puffy when tears unexpectedly arrived.

Who was she talking to? He wanted to know more about what was going on, but didn't want to risk opening the door any further in fear he would be seen.

She leaned against her desk, her shoulders slumping, her eyes pleading.

Conan had to hold back a gasp when that guy, Takeru, came into view, his hands going to her shoulders. He felt heat burn his face with anger when he saw that he appeared to be comforting her, his eyes full of understanding.

__

'If this has anything to do with me, he doesn't understand anything.' He thought angrily, his eyes narrowing when Takeru pulled Ran to him for an embrace, his hands running up and down her back.

Every ounce of Conan wanted to burst through the door and show Takeru how a soccer ball felt when he kicked it. He wanted to throw him out the sixth story window. He wanted to scream and tell him to stay as far away from Ran as possible.

Every ounce, that is…except one. Conan couldn't help but let his anger subside into sorrow as he witnessed Ran go slack in Takeru's arms, her shoulders shaking with every sob her body released. So in the end, it was Takeru comforting her…instead of him.

He suddenly felt like he was eavesdropping on a very private moment. Obviously she didn't want to appear weak in front of Conan and yet, here he was, watching the whole thing. For some reason, however, he couldn't pull himself away from the door.

After what he was about to view, he wished he would have simply left well enough alone. Takeru lifted her chin with one finger and lowered his head to hers, their lips meeting.

The butterflies were no longer in Conan's stomach. Now it was just a painful twist; knives stabbing him continuously. And for a split moment, he could've sworn the pain was so much stronger than that of metamorphosing between Shinichi and Conan. His heart that he had given to Ran was stolen from her by Takeru, just so he could squash all his hopes and dreams.

"Just what do you think you are doing?"

The voice behind him made him jump and slam the door out of instinct, causing him to wince. His mind was so struck with grief, he found no voice to offer an explanation to Ran's secretary. The best thing to do, he thought, was turn and leave. And that's exactly what he did, glad the elevator didn't go anywhere and was convenient to him as he stepped inside.

The secretary watched him go with wide eyes, turning to look at Ran and Takeru as they came out of her office.

"What happened?" Ran asked, trying her best to wipe her eyes dry.

Haili just shook her head and sat back down in her seat, her voice dull, "Teenagers…"

"Huh?" Teenager? The only person she knew that was a teenager that would come to her office was Conan. Something happened to catch her eye on the floor and when she picked it up, she realized it was a red rose petal.

llllllllllllllllllll

Conan was eerily calm the rest of the day. He scared himself a lot when he looked in mirrors and saw his eyes devoid of emotions. He found that he was simply emotionally distressed and drained and he just didn't know how to express any form of liveliness.

When he got back to the place he wanted to call his home again so badly, he threw the flowers in the garbage right away. Ran didn't want them. He couldn't bring himself to think that she wanted Takeru either and that it wasn't her fault he kissed her…but did she really have to go to _him _for comfort? He was sure she had tons of other friends at the office she could have talked to if she didn't want to talk to him about it.

He got a shower and slacked out on the couch the rest of the day, listening to the rain as it continued to come down. He watched the clock tick by the seconds, the minutes, and the hours.

__

'Is this what Ran felt like all that time ago? All the nights she stayed up…was she waiting for me to come to her? Was she scared to fall asleep, only to wake up and find that she missed me? …Did she ever get her hopes up too high? This feeling it…it hurts.'

And those were his thoughts for many hours, sometimes going in and out of a dream-like-state.

He awoke more when he heard Ran come home, his eyes only focusing on the clock for a moment to see that it was a little before midnight. He felt he didn't have the strength to get up and go to his own room, nor opening his eyes for more than ten seconds.

Managing to keep himself aware, however, he heard her come into the living room, then coming over to stand in front of the couch. He felt her staring down at him, which made his eyes go wild behind his closed lids. Conan then heard a rustling sound, indicating that she had spotted the flowers in the garbage, as she set them on the coffee table.

And then it got quiet, still. He wasn't sure if she had gone right onto bed again and he didn't hear her, or not. What felt like five minutes passed and just as he was about to let himself fall into the oblivion of sleep again, he felt her fingers on his open palm.

By the way he was laying on his side, his one arm hung out horizontally over the side of the couch, his palm upwards. His hand twitched impulsively, which made her pause for a moment. Conan made no other movements, so she assumed he was still asleep.

Her fingers glided over his palm so gently, it tickled, even when she caressed the length of his fingers. She lingered on his hand for awhile, before her courage was built up and she moved to his wrist, going up as far as his elbow. The pads of her fingers zigzagged their way up and down his arm. Conan felt his skin tighten, the hair on his arm standing straight up.

His heart began beating faster like it always did when she was this close and was sure she noticed when he swallowed roughly.

Before he knew it, her hands were on his upper arm, her fingers shaking when they stroked his cheek. His lips parted and he let out a breath, just then realizing he had been holding it for quite some time.

He sensed her get closer to him, her face not too far from his. That's when he noticed that smell again. The slight scent of alcohol; not too strong, but there nonetheless.

His eyes snapped open before he could stop himself, causing her to gasp in surprise and pull back quickly.

"Conan-kun…gomen nasai…I didn't know you were awake," she shook her head as if reprimanding herself and stood, but stopped before she could go anywhere when Conan grabbed her hand. She watched as he sat up, his eyes pleading with her to stay and talk to him.

She simply stared down at him for a long moment before sighing. She had finally relented when she sat down next to him, her eyes widening when he immediately pulled her to him in an embrace. Her eyes wandered to the side when her chin rested on his shoulder.

"Conan-kun…?"

"Is this what you need, Ran? Just someone to hold you? To let you know there's someone there that cares?" He squeezed her tighter, just now beginning to realize this wasn't a dream, that he was actually holding her and asking her these things.

Ran sucked in a deep breath, knowing for sure now that Conan was the one that slammed her door. The flowers in the garbage were a big hint, but now it was proved. Her eyes closed as she thought hard about how she could answer his questions.

Her hands found his sides, her fingers wrapping themselves around his shirt to grip the material tightly, "I need more than this."

He held her tighter, encouraging her to go on. When she didn't continue, nervousness began to take over, but he decided to give it one last shot.

"What do you need?" he asked, suddenly fearing the answer.

Ran was quiet for sometime before finally responding, "I need Shinichi."

His hold on her tightened increasingly, mostly due to the fact that his own body stiffened.

__

'Tell her…tell her, baka! Just don't sit here and act shocked…you knew it the whole time anyway. Tell her!'

Slowly, he pulled away from her, his hands still resting on her shoulders. Ran's eyes pleaded with him, almost as though her own mind was screaming at his to tell her.

__

'Tell her!'

"Ran…" he began, his eyes momentarily leaving hers to look upon her lips. That's when he remembered and his gaze returned to hers, "have you been drinking?"

Ran looked away guiltily, "Not too much. I start…and then I have to think about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it."

"Why are you doing it?" Conan asked, tilting his head as he tried to make her look at him again.

Ran sighed and gave in, looking back up to him, "I don't know. There's no excuse for it; that's what I always used to tell my dad. He would always get to drinking when cases didn't come in because he got so depressed and upset about it. But a lot of times…he became slightly happier and seemed to forget about his problems when he was drunk. I thought I would do the same."

Conan shook his head, "Ran, I don't—."

"I told you, I didn't drink that much. Actually…alcohol doesn't have the same effect on me. Instead of getting happier and forgetting my problems, I become mellow and my problems intensify. I think about him more and more and I always thought he was…" She stopped and looked at him closely before shaking her head, "forget it. You don't need to know this stuff."

He eyed her with a hard look, silently telling her that he didn't like her drinking. He figured she already knew that, however, and didn't want to bother her with the obvious, "Why do you drink at all then if you know what the effects will be?"

She sighed again, remaining quiet for a long minute. Then she answered the same as she did before, "I don't know. The best answer I can give you is that it makes me tired. When I get to thinking too much…I want nothing but to get away, to fall asleep. I hate living in my own mind."

Conan was about to ask her what that was supposed to mean, but decided against it. _'Tell her already!' _His mind continued to scream at him, making him agree with her. Being in a state when the mind continued to scream wasn't always too pleasant.

"What are you thinking about, Conan-kun?"

Her voice snapped him out of whatever he fell into. He noticed he had been staring at her as he fought with himself, knowing he must have looked pretty serious. Conan saw that Ran had a look of hope in her eyes, seeming as though she was expecting something he was to tell her. His courage continued to rise and fall in a quick and steady pattern.

"Ran, I…" he trailed off when her face brightened, a small smile forming on her lips. She nodded a couple times, silently telling him to continue.

__

'Why is she so excited? What is she expecting me to tell her? By the look of it, I have a feeling that she's anticipating something different. I mean, would she really look this eager to hear that I had lied to her all these years?'

His thoughts were shot down when he snapped his mouth shut, not wanting to destroy her look of happiness that he had not seen in over a week. _'But just what _is _it she wants to hear?' _He looked directly into her, trying to see if he could figure it out. Before too long, he was focusing on nothing but the two of them. He was still holding onto her shoulders, and she was still gripping his shirt. Like the first time they had kissed, he realized how close they were and his body started to react.

He forgot what he was supposed to figure out, that is, until the hope began fading from her eyes. They were losing their spark as she began to understand that he wasn't going to continue, her spirit feeling let down again.

Conan panicked as he felt her beginning to pull away, his mind whirling at the thought of them resuming their non-speaking terms. He ignored his increasing and decreasing courage rhythm as he closed his eyes and quickly tilted his head to press his lips to hers.

She stiffened on impact, her eyes widening as she tried to comprehend what was happening. This one was definitely more "advanced" than the first one they shared. The first kiss, as she put it, was more of an experimental, unsure kiss. The one that he was giving to her now, however, was stronger. It wasn't as demanding as it was pleading, pleading for her to show some sort of positive reaction.

Slowly, she closed her eyes and responded, moving her lips over his. His hands tightened, which in turn made her grip tense as well. When she felt herself returning his affection, finding herself wanting to go so much further, she became alarmed and pulled away quickly. Ran gasped for breath, redness flowing into her face.

Looking over to him, she saw that he was in about the same condition as she. She kept telling herself to pull him back to her, kiss him long and hard until they were both out of breath. Then kiss him again. She found herself wanting to hold him, touch him, and love him. Their kiss was like something she had experienced and tasted in a dream. Her skin tingled with possibilities, her bones vibrated with desire.

__

"Conan-kun," she said, a sharp, decisive tone hinted in his name.

It was enough to bring him back down to earth, his feet once again touching the floor. He saw that her look was the same as before, as though she expected him to tell her something. Conan hated to say that he didn't know what she wanted to know, which made him blush under her hard gaze.

He laughed nervously, "Does this mean you're going to talk to me again?"

Ran blinked twice. He wasn't going to tell her. She sighed and then smiled, however, knowing that he would never tell her if she continued to ignore him. She just…had to give him more time.

"Hai, Conan-kun…I promise to hang around more again."

"And no more drinking?"

She laughed when he sounded like some sort of guardian watching over her, inspecting her on all the bad things she did, "That too."

Conan finally returned her smile, glad he finally got through to her, "Good." _'There, now that wasn't so hard, was it? I didn't even tell her anything! I didn't even find out why she was avoiding me in the first place! All I did was call a truce…is that enough?'_

"And thanks for the flowers. They're beautiful," she commented, standing and picking the flowers up, planning on filling a vase up with water and putting them in her room.

"Ran," he stopped her, reaching out for her hand again before she could leave.

She noted the anxiety in his voice and knew he was about to ask her what he had done wrong before. Ran didn't want to tell him. Not until he told her.

Turning around quickly, she kissed him again, hushing him before he could speak any further. It was a fast, strong kiss, one that left him too awestruck afterward to even remember what he was going to ask her.

Ran gently beamed and walked to the hallway, about to step into the bathroom. Before she closed the door, she turned her head back to him, still standing where she had left him and said a soft, loving, "Goodnight."

She then closed the door, allowing him to finally catch the breath she stole away. A smile slowly spread until it reached the point of being what one might call a goofy grin. He collapsed back onto the couch, his eyes following the scenery all the way up to the ceiling. His eyes then closed.

"Just a little longer…"

He convinced himself.

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile, but I have a good reason…

See, I read tively-splits last review and had a heartattack. They had to keep me in the hospital for about a week before I began to realize what was real and what wasn't again.

Of course ya know I'm just kidding. Actually, I had a lot of trouble with the internet…and it wouldn't let me log on. Something about a violation or…something. I dunno, AOL's stupid. But going off of that, I'm back with this chapter and already have a few pages written for the next. Thanks for all your reviews!


	8. Revenge

**__**

Over the Years

VII.

"I say it's the butcher."

"Too obvious. Try again."

"You act like you already know who did it!"

"I do know."

Ran stared at him, unblinking, as she tried to figure out if he was joking or not. When she saw that he looked quite serious, she shook her head and turned back to the mystery movie they were watching, "I don't believe you. You're bluffing."

Conan smirked and laughed, slouching down on the couch and crossing his arms arrogantly, "Whatever you say."

She shot him another quick glance, "If you're so sure of yourself, tell me who did it."

"I don't know, that might ruin the movie for you," he told her, paying attention more when a chase scene began, "Sure you want to know?"

Ran had her eyes glued to the television, feeling the high suspense every time she saw the heroin's horrified face. Her eyes narrowed as she realized Conan cornered her, "No, I want to figure it out on my own."

He laughed again, glad that he got her to admit that he was good. Of course, the old classic mystery movie was a cinch to him, all the clues seeming to fly right in their faces. He would never say it was simple out loud, though, knowing Ran might feel just a bit insulted.

It was the night after they had made up and, just as Ran said, she came home earlier to spend time with him. They weren't too sure on what to do, considering the rain kept everybody inside. Eventually deciding on seeing if there was anything good on TV, they came across the mystery/thriller when it was just starting. It actually turned out to be a very long movie and was finally coming down to the falling action.

"Oh! Is it the jewelry store owner?" Ran asked excitedly, her eyes bright as she looked to him to see if she was right.

Conan merely shrugged, however, and put on a poker face, "I don't know, maybe."

Ran clicked her teeth and turned back to the movie. She really wanted to know who the killer was before the movie actually revealed it, but didn't want Conan telling her. She wanted to figure it out. But as she could see, Conan wasn't going to tell her if she was right or not.

As the lead female's eyes widened with horror and recognition, Ran's eyes did the same as she sat forward. The girl was cornered in a back alley, cowering in a corner as she stared up at the homicidal maniac.

"You…" the girl stated simply, tears slipping down her face.

"Show him already!" Ran yelled at the screen. Conan chuckled lowly and closed his eyes as he rested his head back against the couch. He already knew what was going to happen.

Slowly, the scene began going up the assassin's body, the face still hidden in the dark.

Ran's heart sped up as reality began to sink in when she recognized the body structure. The man stepped forward, his eyes calm as he raised the knife he would be using to kill the girl. The knife slashed down, the girl gave an ear-piercing scream, and then the screen went black. The movie ended.

As if in a daze, Ran picked up the remote and shut the TV off. She set it back on the table mechanically, her mouth open in surprise.

She turned to Conan, who had just opened his eyes again. Her eyes were wide, "It was the…detective the whole time?"

"Kind of ironic, don't you think?" Conan laughed, shaking his head when he saw how shocked Ran was. He turned away, still feeling her eyes on him. Slowly, dramatically, he turned back to her, his eyes meeting hers. A devious smirk curved his lips when he spotted her playful suspicion.

Ran gasped and stood up quickly, running behind the couch, "No, don't come near me, Conan-kun! I don't think I can trust it right now!"

Snickering, Conan kept a hard gaze on her as he stood slowly, anticipating her next move, "So you finally figured it out, neh Ran-nëchan? I was wondering when you would finally realize it."

Though she tried to hold it in, she laughed out loud and acted as though she were about to run to the hallway, but stopped when Conan was going to intervene. Ran then acted like she was going to run to the kitchen, but halted again when Conan headed that way, too.

"There's no escape," he spoke, a mysterious hint coming to his voice.

"Oh, no!" Ran said in a very melodramatic voice, her hands clasping her cheeks, "I don't know what to do because I'm the stupid main character. I should run towards the nearest exit, but for some reason, I'm going to run to the dead end!" She ran towards the hallway, only to bump right into Conan when they met at the side of the couch. His arms wrapped around her waist to stop her, a laughing scream echoing from her when Conan lost his balance. He sent them both to the floor as Ran tried her best to wiggle out of his grasp while catching her breath.

"I would calm down if I were you," Conan warned her, keeping his arms wrapped firmly around her from behind. He knew that if he loosened his grip, she could get away and, with her skills, who knew what she would do to him.

"Oh yeah?" Ran challenged, keeping her voice low, "And if I don't?"

Ran wiggled a bit more before he tightened his grip again. She paused as she felt him get closer to her, his lips right next to her ear, "If you don't, I'm going to have to call in backup."

They both lay perfectly still for a moment before the doorbell rang. They both screamed out of surprise and scrambled to stand up. The rain picked up for a split second in warning before it went back to its regular rhythm. The bell rang again.

"How are you doing that?" Ran asked, at first thinking it was a way to scare her after his little threat.

Conan rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen, "There's someone actually at the door, Ran."

"I knew that!" she yelled in her own defense before running after him. She stayed right behind him as he opened the door, surprised to see a beautiful woman who looked to be about thirty-years-old. Her long black hair that came down to her waist was matted against her form, some frizz forming at the top of her head from the rain.

Ran looked to Conan, waiting for him to step aside and let her in. She narrowed her eyes when she witnessed him just standing there, gawking at her. She groaned in frustration and pushed him out of the way, now filling the woman's view, "Hello, may I help you?" Remembering her manners, she stepped aside and waved her arm, "Come on in, you must be freezing."

The woman stepped inside, not looking all that grateful, however. As she came into the light of the kitchen, they noticed how dark her eyes were, almost a midnight blue. She seemed friendly underneath it all, a certain softness in her eyes. She kept them narrowed, though, glaring at both of them hatefully.

Ran was surprised by this look, "Umm, do we—."

"Are you Edogawa Conan?" the woman suddenly interrupted, focusing her gaze on Conan. Her voice was low and filled with that certain feminine touch that made most men go crazy. If it weren't for the underlying threat in her tone, Conan would have definitely fell for it.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw that she knew his name. Of course, it didn't strike him as too out of the ordinary; people came by to see him all the time. Along with working with a group of detectives, he also made himself a private detective, taking on his own cases.

That was all the way across Japan, though, and didn't know news traveled that fast that he had arrived down in Miyazaki to stay with an old friend.

"H-hai," he finally answered, standing up a bit straighter to look more professional, "I'm taking it you want my help with something?"

The woman chuckled harshly, her eyes narrowing further when she stopped abruptly, "Oh believe me, Detective, you've already helped enough."

Conan shot a glance over to Ran who looked just as confused as he. He turned back to the dark-haired woman. His mind began to whirl as he searched his brain to see if he recognized her from somewhere. As far as he could tell, he had never seen her before, "Did I work for you before? What's your name?"

Because of the warmth inside compared to the coldness outside, the woman's hair began to dry, fluffing out nicely. Her look became more attractive, causing Ran to wonder if she was some kind of super model. But there was one little detail that kept them both amused by her more than anything. Something that she was and they weren't.

She was an American.

"My name?" She questioned, crossing his arms over her chest, her left hand grasping her purse string that hung over her right shoulder. Her knuckles turned white and her body stiffened as if she were suddenly unsure of something, "My name is Naru Naomi."

"Ah!" Conan gasped, his eyes widening in recollection.

Ran was sure she had heard the name before, but couldn't quite place where. Something sure seemed to click with Conan and she hated it that his mind worked faster than hers. Was this girl important?

"I see you remember my name," Naomi stated, her eyes still cold even when she looked to the floor. Her jaw locked and her lips curved down in an instant. Tears suddenly shown in her eyes, but she stood her ground as she looked back to Conan again, "So to answer your question from earlier: yes, you can help me."

She clamped her fists in front of her, leaning toward him as she yelled, "Get my husband out of jail! He didn't do _anything_! He wouldn't hurt anyone, much less kill someone! You got the wrong person!" A tear escaped each eye, zigzagging down her flawless skin. Though she still looked angry, Conan and Ran took note that she also looked hurt and lost above it all.

Conan silently sighed, slumping his shoulders. So that's why she knew his name. Though he hadn't been reading then paper or watching the news, he was sure someone found out his name and posted it everywhere when he solved the case. How she found out where he was staying, he wasn't quite sure, but he guessed that she might have been following him around for awhile after he put Goshi in jail.

"Listen…Naomi, Naru-san already confessed to the murder. I put all the clues together and by the end of it, he—."

"You only confused him!" she accused, putting on foot forward before bringing it back as though she was afraid to get any closer to him, "I know how your type are! They keep accusing and accusing and accusing and before too long, you put too much pressure on that person! They admit to doing it because you _make _them feel guilty.

"You probably kept teasing him about my affair with Sanoi! You probably made him want to go to jail so he wouldn't have to face me. You probably—."

"That's enough, Naomi-san," Conan stopped her when he began hearing how loud and hoarse her voice was becoming. It wasn't hard to tell that she was in a mental state of confusion, taking it hard that she lost both of the men she loved.

"You're only making it worse on yourself by denying the truth," Conan went on, speaking calmly to try to get her to do the same. "You know I didn't do anything except my job. No one else is to blame for this, however, it seems like you're blaming yourself on the inside."

Naomi straightened her back, as her body became rigid. She looked like he had just slapped her, causing her to become vulnerable. More tears came to her eyes and she began fumbling with her purse, "How dare you…how dare you!"

At first, Ran thought that she was searching for some tissue to dry her eyes with and was about to offer her some. She let out an agonizing gasping moan when she saw her pull out a gun instead. Naomi seemed to be horrified when she held it in her hands, as though just holding it was enough to send her straight to Hell. Shakily, she pointed it at Conan, making him step back and hold up his hands.

"You took away the only living person I loved…give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot," Naomi sobbed, clearly hating herself for what she was doing and saying.

Conan didn't have to think about it too long, his arms beginning to lower. His eyes filled with sympathy for her, "Because Sanoi and Goshi wouldn't want you to kill me."

Naomi's hands continued to shake, "You have no right to talk about them to me as if you knew them," her index finger began to curve tighter around the trigger.

"Naomi, no!" Ran intervened, jumping in front of Conan before she could stop herself. Her arms went out to block all of him, her orbs showing fear, yet determination.

"Ran, get out of the way, don't get yourself involved," Conan warned, looking from Ran to Naomi.

"Listen to him," Naomi told her; her finger still pressed gently on the trigger; "I don't want to kill a non-responsible person."

"But Conan-kun's _not_ responsible. If you kill him, it'll be just as bad as killing me. It's no one's fault, you got to listen to me!" Ran's eyes saddened as Naomi continued to stand there in her own misery, "I can see that you're suffering a great deal right now. I can understand why…losing someone you love can severely damage emotion, let alone two people. But you have to understand that what Conan-kun is telling you is the truth…Goshi did admit to killing your lover. Even so…don't go blaming it on yourself. You had no idea it would end like this."

Conan and Ran were both surprised, yet glad, that Naomi didn't make any further moves. She was hanging onto Ran's every word, for her expressions kept changing as the speech went along.

"I know it's hard…but this isn't going to solve anything," Ran went on, cautiously taking a step forward, "it'll only put more guilt on you. That's not what you want, is it?"

Naomi stared at Ran intensely, passing her sorrow onto Ran. Of course, Ran knew what it felt like, getting someone you love taken away from you. It can be painful for umpteen years, but after awhile, the feeling becomes accustomed to the emotions.

"I can see you're not a bad person…you're just very insecure right now," Ran stepped closer to her until the gun was almost touching her chest. Please…" Ran's eyes became teary also, swallowing back a sob, "don't kill him. He's all I have."

Naomi's eyes widened when reality sunk in. Her dark eyes followed Ran's hand as she placed it right below her own hands, waiting for her to drop the gun. Naomi looked into the other female's eyes with slight panic, almost believing that she already fired a bullet.

Ran shook her head, "It's okay, Naomi-chan, nothing happened. Just give me the gun."

All three of them held their breath as the seconds ticked by slowly, anticipating Naomi's next move. Naomi shifted the gun slightly in her hands, which made them all take in a sharp breath.

And then, as if the gun was suddenly a burning coal, she dropped it from her hands and clasped them together over her bosom. She sobbed heavily and closed her eyes as Ran put the pistol on the table.

"Why did he have to kill him…" Naomi whispered, tears streaming down her face in the millions. Ran, feeling slightly connected to the woman already, stepped forward to wrap her arms around her. Naomi hid her face in Ran's shoulder as her whole body shook with sobs for her losses.

Ran looked over her shoulder at Conan, who seemed shocked that Ran was actually able to get through to her, "Hey Conan-kun, mind putting on some tea?"

"No, not at all," he replied, walking toward the stove.

"No…no, that's okay," Naomi said in between weeping, "I bothered you both too much…I should just get going. I'm sorry I almost did such a thing, I…" she backed away from Ran with a blush on her cheeks, embarrassed that the girlfriend of the man she almost killed was comforting her.

"Nonsense…you're in no shape to walk or drive home right now. Just drink some tea with us until you feel better," Ran offered, pulling out a chair to sit her down.

Naomi slumped in a chair, her bloodshot eyes looking down; "I'll never feel better."

Ran shook her head and got out three mugs, setting them down on the table, "If you keep talking like that you won't. I know it just happened, but…the sooner you get over it the better." She sat down in a chair across from her.

"I don't think I'll ever love someone again," Naomi admitted slowly.

Trying to think of something to say to make her think otherwise, Ran was surprised when she couldn't think of anything comforting. It didn't work for her all these years, why would it work for Naomi; "I know the feeling."

Over where Conan was standing at the counter waiting for the water to boil, his body froze. '_Great, if they get into this discussion, I'll be surrounded by crying females. That's definitely not something I want right now. Boil, water, boil!'_

Naomi gradually raised her eyes back to Ran, her slender hand coming up to wipe away a tear under her eye, "I can't believe what I was about to do…"

"Don't worry so much about it," Ran said, "Nothing happened, so—."

"But something could have!" Naomi argued, gently resting her fists on the tabletop, "I came here knowing how hard it is to lose someone you love and I almost took _your _love away from you!"

At the mentioning of Conan, a light blush lit up Ran's face, "My…my love?"

"To tell you the truth…Ran, was it?" Naomi sat straight up in her chair and looked down at her hands, "I never wanted to hurt anyone. Not even Goshi…though I knew it would break him if he ever found out about Sanoi and I."

Though the blush was still apparent, Ran ignored her previous statement, "Umm…if you don't mind me asking, Naomi-chan, but if you loved Goshi so much…why did you have an affair with Sanoi?"

A small smile curved Naomi's lips as a good thought finally came to mind. She waited to speak as Conan brought the teakettle over to pour tea into each of the cups. When they were all filled, he sat down in the end chair and allowed the girls to continue their conversation.

"It's funny…how sometimes you can love two people at once. No matter how you look at it, they seem to balance each other out. They both have the same amount of positives and the same amount of negatives. Of course, you don't look at the negatives as much; as far as your concerned, their close enough to perfect," Naomi gave a short laugh, wrapping her fingers around the warm mug.

"Sanoi and I go way back…we knew each other since we were kids and were high school sweethearts," she went on, "and though we were both young, we knew what we had was real. However, there's a different course for each life and our lives didn't look like they were going in the same direction.

"As you both can tell, I'm originally from America. My parents and I moved here when I was just a little girl, but they thought it would be better for me if I attended college back in America. So…I moved across sea while Sanoi stayed here. We tried to keep in touch but…when it was his turn to write back, he never did. I tried to write to him again numerous times, but I began getting my letters back when Sanoi suddenly disappeared.

"When I was done with college, I moved back over here to see if I could find him. I didn't. So I looked into his records and found out he had gotten himself into some trouble in the last few years with drugs and the likes. I was heartbroken that he had gone down that path when he had big dreams for himself.

"I stayed in Japan, however, and that's when I met Goshi. He was perfect for me…he supported me when I began editing, he was smart, handsome…everything that I've been longing to find to get over Sanoi. When he asked me to marry him, I was overjoyed. 'Finally!' I thought, 'I can be completely happy.' Well…at first things were great.

"Things change quickly, however. Soon, Sanoi came back around when he began hearing my name. I wanted to ignore him…to tell him that our lives were too different now. But I couldn't…as soon as I set eyes on him; I fell for him all over again. And I know the feeling was mutual. He didn't tell me he was involved with drugs and I didn't bring it up. We began our affair soon after…meeting each other here and there whenever we could. I began thinking that he stopped doing illegal things, and was seriously considering being with him permanently.

"There was still Goshi, though. I loved him as well and was having a hard time choosing. It must have put a lot of stress on Sanoi also, for I caught him selling and buying drugs a couple times…and then he began going down hill. He was hardly ever sober around me thereafter and…I knew that I had to make the best choice and break up with him to stay with Goshi.

"Goshi somehow found out and…the rest you know," Naomi got done explaining, tears in her eyes again when she thought about it all over.

Ran still had the blush on her cheeks, more due to the sad romance of her story now, "That's so sad…" she trailed off, taking a quick look over to Conan. He had been looking at her also and shifted his gaze down to his tea when she caught him looking. "Do…do you ever regret marrying Goshi…having someone in your way?"

Naomi sighed loudly, taking a long sip of tea, "When I was with Sanoi, I sometimes did find myself wishing that I was still single…so we could just do everything on the spur of the moment and not worry about anything. But that's the thing I regret the most. Thinking that way about Goshi as though he were some sort of burden when all he ever did was love me."

"I see," Ran nodded in understanding, "But your love for Sanoi must have been really strong…you said you were high school sweethearts and you look…maybe in your late twenties now." She lowered her voice, "I can relate to that…"

Conan's eyes shot back up to her quickly, showing a guilty look, "Ran—."

"Late twenties?" Naomi laughed and that's when Conan and Ran realized just how soothing her laugh really was, "I wish I was still that young. Don't tell anyone, but I'm almost forty."

"Forty?!" they both yelled at once, their eyes practically popping out of their heads.

"If I didn't talk to you, I could almost think that you were a sophisticated high school student," Ran complimented.

She laughed again, "I could almost say the same for you, Ran. You look like you're just eighteen."

Ran smirked but hid it behind her cup as she took a drink, "Just add ten years onto that."

"Guess we turned out lucky, neh?" Naomi said, smiling gently herself. She then looked over to Conan, noticing that he hadn't said all that much to her, "So Conan, care to share any stories of how you and Ran became a couple."

Conan blushed fiercely at this, looking over to Ran quickly only to look down at his tea, "Umm, well…"

"Oh we aren't a couple, actually…" Ran explained, seeing how Conan wasn't putting up much of a defense, "I used to baby-sit him all the time when his parents were in the hospital or overseas doing something. He lived with me for quite a few years."

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, it's just…" Naomi looked back and forth between the two, not being able to hide a smile, "You two look like a nice couple is all."

That made Ran and Conan blush all over again.

"Anyway, I think I've overstayed my welcome," Naomi stated, drinking the rest of her tea down before standing.

"You don't have to leave so soon," Ran told her, standing up also.

Naomi shook her head, "I appreciate it, Ran, but I better get home before it gets too late. I hate driving at night in the rain." She fixated her purse on her shoulder again and walked to the door, Ran grabbing the handle as she held the door open to wave goodbye to Naomi.

"Ja ne, Naomi-chan!" Ran called, watching the woman run down the sidewalk to her car, "You're welcome back anytime!"

Naomi waved back, "Arigatou!" She then got in her car, leaving Ran to close the door and press her back against it as she stared at Conan who stared back at her.

Conan gave a small smile, "Ironic how the person that almost killed me is welcome back anytime."

Ran rolled her eyes and went to put her and Naomi's cup in the sink, "She may have had a gun and pointed it at you, but I don't think she could have brought herself to actually shoot. Which…" Ran looked at the far end of the table where the gun still lay, "is still here. What are we gonna do with it?"

Conan shrugged, "Keep it for safe keeping?"

"Guess that works," Ran replied, picking up the gun and setting it in a top cupboard. She then turned back to him and put one hand on her hip. With her free hand, she waved her index finger as though she was reprimanding a little boy, "Now Conan-kun, don't go touching that. That's a dangerous weapon that can seriously harm someone."

It was Conan's turn to roll his eyes as he got up and put his own cup in the sink. He flashed her a smirk before heading into the living room, "I'll play with it the first chance I get."

"I'm sure you will," Ran laughed, following him out of the kitchen. She stopped abruptly, however, as she clasped her hands in front of her, "Conan-kun?"

"Yeah?" he turned around, seeing her suddenly looking nervous, out of place. Her eyes caught his and by her intense gaze, it was impossible for him to look away.

"Are you…" she paused for a moment, silently contemplating over whether she wanted to ask him or not, "Are you sure you haven't heard anything from Shinichi?"

The question took him by surprise, making his mouth open and close continuously. Finally, he got his bearings as he tried to remain calm, "Ran, I…I-I…I…"

As he continued to stammer on, Ran waited impatiently for him to form other words. She blinked twice when he was on about his tenth 'I' and at last shook her head, "Never mind, Conan-kun…I guess I should have just listened to you the first time. It'll just be…too good to be true."

__

'Tell her!' his mind began screaming again, his fists clenching and unclenching, _'Tell her!'_

"I'm just going to go to bed now," she yawned to show her point, "All the excitement today wore me out."

Ran walked around him, about to get ready for bed. He called out her name again but she just applied with, "Oh yeah, and I won't be home until late again tomorrow. I'm finally finishing up with this case and want to get everything done as soon as possible. You don't have to wait up for me."

She walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Again, Conan was left standing there, not fulfilling his minds demand. He sighed and leaned against the back of the couch, his hands in his pockets as he stared at the floor. He thought his mind had once again become quiet when a little voice in the back of his brain echoed:

__

'You've got to tell her sometime.'

Hello everyone! I have something funny to tell you! At least…I found it someone humorous.

I went to the movies to see "The Forgotten" the other day and a preview came on for an upcoming movie called "Birth". In it, the woman's husband disappeared, but then a twelve- year-old boy shows up, claiming that he's her husband. He got turned into a kid somehow…anyway! I thought of Conan right away and now I can't wait till whenever to see if this movie is any good.

"…Alas, I am only a mere writer; my editor went on an extended paid vacation…"


	9. The Truth is Revealed

**__**

Over the Years

VIII.

As Ran had stated, she was gone at the office all day, leaving Conan to wonder if he, again, did something to upset her. Of course, he tried not to think along those lines; she had a job to do and she was determined to get it done. It had nothing to do with him…right? Ran didn't seem angry with him anymore, not that she ever told him what exactly he did in the first place.

When the rain began to slow down into a sprinkle, Conan began hoping that she might cut her day in half and spend it with him. A bit selfish, yes, considering he was "off working" with no time to see her for ten years. Alas, no one ever really wants to be in someone else's shoes.

His hope was lifted around five when the phone rang. He was expecting nothing but maybe a sales person trying to get Ran to buy something or a credit card company, always thinking people needed more than five credit cards. Instead of allowing it to ring on and on until the answering machine picked it up, he decided to answer it.

"Moshi moshi," Conan said when he put the phone to his ear, "This is the residence of Mouri Ran, but she's not here right now. I can take a message if you like, but I know nothing, I'm just the baby-sitter."

"Baby-sitter, huh?" he heard Ran laugh on the other end, "Did you always bring kids over my house while I was working?"

"Oh!" Conan had been leaning against the wall, ready to start "sounding" like he was writing done something. When he heard Ran, however, he pushed himself away to stand up straight, becoming more alert, "Ran, I didn't know it was you."

She laughed again, "I guess not. I just decided to call to see what you were up to. I'm on a fifteen minute break right now."

Conan smiled gently, "So you're checking up on me now, huh?"

"You know it," Ran pretended to be stern, "I would like to know what those kids are up to."

"Just the usual," Conan answered, leaning back against the wall again, "they're in your room, jumping on your bed, throwing your clothes everywhere, trying on your makeup…"

Ran stopped him with a low groan, "It figures I would have to work all day only to come home and clean the house."

Conan smirked, almost forgetting that she couldn't see him, "Well, I was going to do it myself, but if you insist…"

"Of course I would volunteer myself for something I really don't want to do. Anyway, Conan-kun, I'm going to get something to eat real quick, so I'm gonna let you go. I won't be home until maybe around eleven-thirty, so you don't have to wait up for me. I know I'll pass out as soon as I hit the bed," Ran told him.

"I'll make sure your room is clean for you then," Conan joked as they said their good-byes and hung up.

Conan continued to stare at the phone for a few seconds afterward. He took that short phone call as a good sign that they weren't on bad terms, which allowed him to relax a little more.

He looked out the window to see that it was still sprinkling and decided to go for a walk around the block. There was a good chance that the heavy downpour could start again and he would be stuck inside once again.

"Better take advantage of it," he told himself as he stepped out the door.

llllllllllllllllllll

Around nine that night, the rain poured again. There was only about an hour of no rain at all, leaving everyone to exit their homes. A lot of people went to the store to stock up on groceries and such, mostly the people that were afraid to drive in the rain. Some homeowners fixed up the large mess in their yard as best they could, and kids were having fun splashing in the large side street puddles.

But when the rain began again, kids were told to return inside and the yards were abandoned to get messy all over again.

From the slight exercise and pretty much boring day, Conan felt tired around ten. It was more of a lazy tired than an actual sleepy tired, but he decided to just make a sandwich and some soup and then go to bed.

As soon as he lay down he zoned out, only to awaken abruptly when he heard the front door open and close.

__

'Ran's home…' He stated the obvious to himself as his eyes quickly snapped open, only to close, then open very slowly again. Ran wasn't making too much noise, but he did hear her soft footsteps in the hall mixed in with the pounding of the rain on the roof and windows. What little light he had in the room came from the street lamp across the street outside. He could also see a little red light out of the corner of his eye from his clock.

Conan heard Ran in the bathroom for a few moments before she retired to her room. That's when everything got as quiet as before. He put his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling, now wondering why he didn't feel tired anymore.

__

'Is it almost morning or something?' He reached out with one arm to turn the clock towards him, seeing the bright red numbers that read 11:48. _'Midnight? It feels like it's six or something.' _He placed his arm behind his head again and looked back to the ceiling.

__

'I wonder if Ran fell asleep yet. She did say she would be really tired when she got home. Don't blame her, she has been working all day.' His mind paused for a moment, almost as though it was thinking about what to think next. _'And even if she didn't work all day, what makes you think she would want to talk at midnight? You may not be tired, but normal people are. Not saying that Ran's normal or anything, it's just that—.'_

When his room went pitch black, his mind seemed to shut off, too. He looked over to where his clock was, only to see nothing but black. He looked up to his window, noticing that the lamp outside was no longer shining either.

__

'Great, the powers out.' Conan continued to lie there for a few moments, hardly realizing when his eyes were open or when they were closed. That's when he remembered that Ran also had work tomorrow and that her alarm would be all screwed up. Conan sighed lowly and threw the blankets off of himself, just then becoming aware of how cold the room was. He blindly put socks on then slowly made his way down the hall, keeping his left hand on the wall for support.

When he sensed that he was at the end of the hall, he reached forward to feel for her door, pushing it open slowly when he put pressure to it. He walked in with his arms going every which way to make sure he didn't run into anything until he felt her bed.

"Ran," he called out softly, wincing at the sound that broke the silence. When he didn't hear a response, he walked closer to the top of her bed, "Ran," he said louder. That time, he heard a soft moan escape her lips. He hated to wake her, but if he was going to have to stay up all night to be her alarm clock, he needed to know what time to wake her up.

"Mm, Conan-kun?" she mumbled sleepily, the blankets shuffling as she turned to blindly stare up into the darkness.

"Yeah, it's me. The power went out and I have a feeling that it might not be back on until morning. Did you want me to wake you up?" he asked, at first speaking in a whisper before going into his low voice.

Ran moaned again as she tried to get awake enough to become aware of what was going on. She sucked in a deep breath for a yawn before finally responding, "No, I…they said that the eye of the storm is predicted to come tomorrow or the next day, so all the offices are closed until further notice."

"Oh," Conan said, mentally punching himself, "I didn't know that. Sorry for waking you up. Goodnight," he turned to leave her room when he felt her wrap her strong fingers around his wrist. The touch shocked him for a moment as he blinked rapidly, desperately wanting to see.

"Don't leave, Conan-kun," she said, her fingers only now beginning to relax.

"Huh?" Conan asked, not sure if he was hearing right or not. He was sure there was a blush on his cheeks and was glad the room was black now.

There was a slight pause before Ran whispered, "Stay with me."

Conan's heart sped up for a split second before he told it to calm down. Though his mind raced with many possibilities of why she would want him to stay, he forced himself to believe that she was just afraid of storms like the one that was due. Of course, she must have gotten over that fear with all the years she lived alone, but it made him feel better.

"Please," she said, her hand sliding down from his wrist into his hand, giving it a small tug towards her.

When she felt him very slowly come closer to her, she threw the blankets down for him to crawl in next to her, now feeling her own heart thumping loudly. _'What are you doing!' _Her mind screamed, but she had no answer at all. Her instincts reacted before she could stop them and now there he was, right beside her.

Though Ran had felt tired ever since she had gotten up that morning, she suddenly felt more awake. Conan was a bit stiff as he laid on his side facing her, his one arm folded under his head, his other hand still being held by Ran. She suddenly had an overwhelming sensation, the big realization hitting her hard when she grasped just how close he was to her.

Again letting instinct take over, she closed her eyes and pulled her arm back, therefore pulling his arm closer to her. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to stay focused and not let herself get too lost in the moment. She subconsciously slid herself closer to him as she finally dropped his hand, leaving his arm around her waist.

She ducked her head to rest it under his chin, her fingers wrapping themselves into his shirt. With her ear so close to his heart, she could feel and hear his heart beating overtime. This brought a gentle smile to her lips as her mind eased itself when she realized he felt just as nervous as she did.

"Ran, I don't…" Conan had no idea what he was going to say or what he should say, but the fact that this was the first time he really held her was hitting him hard.

__

'Tell her now!' His mind began its tirade again, _'Tell her now, before it's too late.' _He closed his eyes and pressed his hand flat against her back to pull her closer. _'It's already too late…but how can you say that?'_

Ran opened her eyes as they went crazy from side to side when her mind began to also scream at his to tell her. Water flooded her eyes as she felt the desperation inside her, urging her to finally break whatever wall was there, to burst past the dam that should have been knocked over years ago from all the lies.

She swallowed roughly before she spoke, "Conan-kun…this is all I ever wanted. To be held like this…to be treated as though I were something special and not just something to look at. You always made me feel this way for as long as I've known you and you're still doing it…maybe even better than before. I would never have been able to survive without you."

Conan was hanging on her every word, feeling scared out of his mind because of something he wasn't quite sure of yet. He wanted to yell at her to stop, that he didn't want to hear any of what she had to say. And yet, at the same time, he silently pleaded with her to go on. To say things directly to him that she never got to say before. He wanted to move on so badly for the longest time and she was finally going to cross that line.

"I've been let down a lot in my life, Conan-kun," she went on with surprising steadiness, "but it's just little things. It's those little things that add up in the end, though, you know? It's those things that really mean nothing ten minutes after the fact, but finally…one too many little things happen that makes it seem like all the other little things just happened and then it adds up into one big thing and you just…really don't want to take it anymore.

"I don't know if I'm making any sense to you at all, Conan-kun, but that's how I feel. And I can't forget all the times I told other people how I'd always be okay because Shinichi was always there for me."

Conan squeezed his eyes shut when she mentioned his name, knowing exactly where she was going now.

"And then over time…it became apparent to everyone that he wasn't always there for me…that is…everyone except me. I always felt like he was near enough to me to pull me through and I let that be my strength. Maybe it was just false strength, but sometimes, anything will do.

"But I see now that maybe…just maybe…I was just a foolish girl hanging on to a foolish teenage life. Things would never be the same, but I didn't want change. Not that kind of change anyway. I wanted," her voice cracked and this is when she realized how hot her eyes were from all the buildup of tears.

"Ran, maybe you should just go to sleep," Conan offered delicately, running his hand up and down her back to stop her from crying.

"No," she said sternly, "I have to say this." Her determination allowed her to suck up the tears and continue on, "I wanted Shinichi to be right there beside me…and he never was. I could always sense him…couldn't he sense me enough to know when I really needed him? Didn't he _know _I needed him?

"And now…" a lump formed in her throat, making her want to cry as hard and as long as she could, but she swallowed it down. _'It's not true…' _"And now that so much time has passed…" _'Not true…' _"And I realize that so much of it was for nothing at all…" _'Not true…' _"And if it wasn't for you, Conan-kun, then I never would have been able to get by…" _'Not true…' _"It's time to say that I…" _'It's not true…' _"I don't…" _'Oh Kami, it's not true!' _

"I don't love Shinichi anymore."

Time seemed to stop. Nothing was registering correctly. Minds were whirling and hearts were shattering. However, nothing could possibly block out the reality of what he had actually heard. And it wasn't so much the words she spoke…it was the way the music stopped playing. When a person felt he was in love and that other person was also in love with him, there's a certain melody that allows the silence to not be so lonely. You don't realize just how strong the silence is until you're alone.

And Shinichi had never felt so alone. His voice wasn't even there to remind him of himself; his mind could no longer urge him to tell her…for what would it matter anymore?

He didn't feel any tears to tell him he was unhappy, he didn't feel any rage to tell him he was furious. He felt…nothing.

__

'Shinichi…please don't believe that!'

From all the tears Ran had built up but did not cry, it gave her somewhat of a headache, her eyes also burning with the desire to spill all the regret. She closed her eyes to softly, she was sure she would never open them again and the words she spoke were going to be her last ever.

"I…I just wanted to tell you that," she hoarsely whispered, "before I fell asleep again. I think you should get some rest, too…" Escaping to the sanctuary of her own mind, Ran let sleep take over, gripping onto his shirt so tightly, her knuckles turned white, though neither of them could see.

When he sensed that she was asleep, he let out a large breath he didn't even know he was holding. He guessed that he was trying to suffocate himself, to forget everything that she just said and pass on to where there was nothing but happiness.

Shinichi clenched his eyes shut even tighter, locking his jaw so no desperate sob or scream would escape. He slid his hand up into her hair where he pushed her closer to him, hiding his face in her hair. He breathed in her scent, something he wished he could have done for the past eleven years instead of feeling as though this would be his first and last time to do it.

Was he ever to feel as close to her again, knowing that she didn't love him anymore?

llllllllllllllllllll

__

'It's not true…'

Ran ended up in the middle of a dream, standing in an unfamiliar house. It somewhat resembled her own, but it felt too empty to be intimate. She felt like she was completely alone and could feel her feet constantly falling, but she somehow managed to keep ground.

__

'I didn't mean it…'

She heard a sound that resembled a small bell coming from another room, causing her to turn in circles, wondering which way it was coming from. She tried to make herself stay calm, but anxiety clenched her heart and wouldn't release its grip.

__

'I just wanted you to tell me…'

Finally, she allowed instinct to take her to the right, where she ran into a hallway. Directly to the left, there was a spirally staircase. Though the old-fashioned, haunted atmosphere terrified her, she began to sprint up the steps. Every dozen steps or so, it felt as though her legs stopped working and she couldn't run any further. She thought about turning back, but every time she made the decision to do so, her legs would function again and carry her further up the stairs.

__

'I wanted it to finally be let out…'

It seemed to take hours, and yet only seconds, to reach the top. She stopped ten steps before the landing, gazing up to the attic floor. It was nearly pitch black, but she could make out an outline of something that maybe resembled a chair. Something that reflected what little light there was shimmered on the seat.

__

'You didn't really believe that, did you…?'

Ran squinted through the darkness, her right hand reaching over to rest against a wall she didn't know was there. Her fingers felt a light switch, bringing relief. Immediately, she flicked the switch up, the wire connected to a single, dull light bulb right above the chair she saw. The thing that caught the light was a pair of glasses that rested on the seat.

__

'If you did…'

For what seemed like no reason at all, fear struck Ran's heart as she opened her mouth to scream, only to realize her voice died away. She tried again and when no sound emitted, she turned and ran back down the stairs. Though her legs almost stopped working again, she managed to reach the bottom, running back into the large room she started off in.

__

'That's foolish of you…'

The front door swung wide open by an unseen force, her head whipping around to stare out into the darkened world. In the doorway, she saw the silhouette of a man with his back toward her. Her heart leapt into her throat.

__

'Shinichi…'

He stood completely still for a long moment and Ran wondered why she wasn't going to him. When he began to walk away, she finally realized she was letting him get away again and began running toward the door.

__

'Shinichi, I didn't mean it…!'

Right when she was about to step outside, the door slammed shut on her, leaving her to run into it.

__

'It wasn't true…'

She pounded her fists on the door as hard as her strength would allow, tears streaming down her face when she realized she wasn't even making an indent.

__

'Shinichi…'

Anger grew hot within her as the hair on her body stood on end. She stepped back and grasped the doorknob, holding onto it as though it would be the last solid thing she would ever touch.

__

'I still love you.'

She threw the door open to come face to face with the unknown, a scream stuck in her throat.

llllllllllllllllllll

Ran sat straight up in bed, waking herself up from her nightmare. Despite the cool air in the room, sweat dripped down the side of her face, making her scramble with the blankets. It was one of those times she was too hot to cover up, but too scared to throw the blankets off. That's when she realized how dark it still was and that she was alone.

Her hand felt over to find Conan, only coming in contact with the cool sheets. Knowing that he wasn't there scared her even more, leaving her to finally throw off the blankets and put her feet on the floor. Quickly, as though she would be caught by something horrible if she walked cautiously, she made her way to the hallway and rushed down to the other end towards Conan's room.

"Conan-kun?" she called out a bit insecurely. When she didn't hear an answer, she pushed the door open. Though it was dark, she could still tell there was no one in the bed, but a glimmer caught her eye by his bed table. Without going any further in, she knew it was his glasses.

She remembered her nightmare and backed away from the room instantly and ran back down the hall to her room. Her breathing was coming out raggedly, her hand over her heart. It eventually got to the point where it became hard to breathe, so she sucked in a few deep breaths and walked over to the window. She thought maybe staring out at the rain for awhile would help calm her down.

Instead, she made out a figure walking down the sidewalk. She squinted and cupped her hands on each side of her face to get a better view. Ran realized almost immediately that it was Conan. No doubt about it, for her carried a soccer ball under his right arm.

"What are you doing?" she called loudly, but knew he would never be able to hear her. In a mad rush, she blindly opened her drawers in search of a sweatshirt and pants. After that, she felt under her bed for her tennis shoes, her eyes closed as she did so. Though it all didn't take that long, it seemed like forever before she finally ran out the front door, not bothering to bring her key or lock the door.

She ran in the direction she saw him going, her hair being matted to her head quickly. She looked around to see if she could spot him, only to see an abandoned street.

"Okay…calm down, Ran, and think for a moment," she mumbled to herself, her fists clenched in a poor attempt to keep herself as warm as possible. She closed her eyes before snapping them open, "The park!" Ran didn't know why she thought about it, but her mind told her to head there, to where she showed Conan her favorite spot was.

Running down the street, she was sure she looked like a madwoman if anyone would happen to look out their window. At the moment, she couldn't care one way or the other as she was completely focused on getting to the park.

It didn't take her long to reach the entrance, then run into the woods. The ground was soft from all the water built up, and she slipped a couple of times, but she never let it slow her down. The only time she had to stop for a second to rethink herself was when she heard low thunder in the distance.

Tears held in her eyes when she began to think herself as foolish. She could have very well ran all the way there when Conan could have just walked around the block once before returning inside to where it was warm and dry.

But when she cut into the break in the woods where the open field was, her heart told her it wasn't for nothing. She slowed down into a walk when she reached the opening, hardly taking notice to all the mud that covered her shoes and the legs of her pants. Her eyes widened when she saw Conan in the middle of the big area, bouncing the soccer ball from knee to knee. His back was towards her, so it was impossible for him to hear her approach him. She didn't bother calling out until she was almost right behind him.

She opened her mouth, closed it quickly, then opened it again more cautiously, "Conan-kun?"

He stopped bouncing it, the ball falling to the ground with a slight rustle over the wet grass. Ran crossed her arms over her chest as she held herself, now realizing just how cold to the bone she really was.

Conan didn't turn around immediately, making her wonder if he only thought he heard her. She was just about to call again when he finally, slowly, turned around, making her gasp slightly. He didn't have his glasses on, leaving him completely exposed. He was no longer Superman in disguise.

They stood there for a moment doing nothing but staring at each other. The rain dripped off them like a waterfall, their bodies shivering from the inside out. Ran's eyes remained wide as she gazed at him like he was some sort of god or mystical creature.

Finally, he spoke in a broken tone, "Ran, I wanted to tell you for the longest time. Ever since it first happened." His voice was louder than usual, trying to be heard clearly over the rain that seemed to drown out everything else. "But I was told by so many that I would put you in danger if I did, so I kept it to myself…knowing you were still hurting all along. But there's no reason to hold it in any longer. I screwed up big time because of how long I've waited.

"Ran…" he closed his eyes as though his heart was shattering into a million pieces on the spot, before opening them slowly, seeing the curiosity in her own eyes, "I am Shinichi."

Of course, because of his look and his previous statement, Ran didn't need to be told directly. And yet, at the same time, she did. She needed to hear it for herself right from him, and now that he finally told her, a great breath of relief was freed from within her soul.

She saw him close his eyes again, like he was waiting for her to deliver the final blow. Silently, she walked toward him. It was hard to find her voice, but when she did, she said the only thing that came to mind:

"What took you so long?"

Shinichi's eyes popped open as she came even closer to him. Her arms uncrossed as her hands reached out for him, her fingers finding his neck. Though her fingers were deathly cold, there was nothing else on his mind except how she was touching him. Ran's fingers slid around to the back of his neck as she pressed her body tightly against his.

When their eyes locked, it was a gaze that surpassed all others. His eyes became brighter, a blue that was beyond brilliant. Her eyes, as always, shone with the love she had held for him for many years and still did. Without a second thought, she put pressure on her hold to bring his head down to hers until their lips met.

Right away, the passion that burned within them sparked like a bright flame, the fire dancing around them enough to block out the frigid rain. His arms wrapped around her to pull her body closer, their lips dancing over each other's like some sacred dance.

Shinichi held her lower back firmly as he leaned on her a bit. It left her to tilt her head back, his lips now finding the base of her neck, savoring up every bit of her. The rain poured over her neck, but every drop was licked or kissed away by him. Her moans echoed in his ears like a burning desire, his lips moving up to her ears before to slid back to her lips.

They parted slightly, both of their eyes opening slowly as they savored what they quickly experienced. When their eyes linked again, Shinichi couldn't help but let out a shaky moan when he saw the want and need in her eyes. Her grasp tightened dramatically when his unsteady hand made its way under her shirt where he could touch her bare back.

Questions swam all over his face, answers covering hers. It was enough to urge him on and ask the more in-depth questions later.

He groaned her name before kissing her again, taking great care as he lowered her to the dampened earth.

lllllllllllllllllll

Though it happened quicker than either had expected, their lovemaking was nothing less than wild, their voices and actions expressing every little bit of affection. The rain was no burden as it only made them want to warm up to each other even more.

Putting on their clothes afterward proved to be a challenge, giving them small laughs at their awkwardness. They didn't say too much on their walk back, the simple pleasure of walking side-by-side good enough. Maybe that was the main reason, but neither wanted to get into the discussion of how everything came to be just yet.

When they made it back to Ran's house, their shivering became quite noticeable. With just a single look at each other, their passions grew once again. As soon as they were in the bathroom, Ran turned on the hot water.

They began to undress each other all over again, the steam quickly filling the room.

It amazed Ran how gentle Shinichi was being with her, yet making sure to leave her fulfilled in every way. Though they were both new at being lovers, Shinichi knew just the right ways to make her squirm, to make her call out to him, to make her fall in love with him all over again.

Her mind subconsciously counted the years that they missed out on, leaving her to cling onto him as tight as she could. She loved how her mind could finally escape to oblivion without any worry or heartbreak right around the corner. And as she pressed her back against the shower tiles, she couldn't help but soak up all the love in his eyes, wanting to see that look from him for as long as she could remember.

Ran recalled constantly whispering to him how much she loved him, relishing in his each and every moan afterward. Their hands washed each other, magically washing away all the coldness. They continually explored each other's bodies, searching for the slightest hint of a tender spot.

With their striking climax rushing over them with wave after wave of ecstasy, they slowly, almost reluctantly, came back down to earth. Ran kept her back to the wall, her eyes closed, her fingers gripping tightly onto his shoulders. Shinichi kept himself pressed firmly against her, his forehead on her shoulder. They spent a moment just trying to catch their breath; both surprised at how passionate they could be.

The spray of water that hit them was beginning to cool, the hot water running low. Ran shivered, not only from the water, but by the way Shinichi still moved against her.

"Maybe we should," Ran paused and swallowed roughly, still hearing all the moans in her voice, "get out and change into something warm."

Shinichi nodded his head against her, sucking in a deep breath as he pulled away from her. She gasped when she suddenly felt empty, but he managed to soothe the feeling quickly with a warming hug as he shut off the shower. Ran reached out and grabbed two towels, handing one to him and wrapping the other about her.

Making sure to not step on any of their wet clothes on the floor, Ran gingerly stepped out of the shower. She figured she would worry about their clothes later on, just now remembering that it was probably one or two in the morning.

She turned right to her room and Shinichi turned left to get warm clothes from his room. Her body was still slightly warm, but she was happy to put on her flannel pajamas and able to feel heated and dried. She rubbed the towel against her head for a moment to dry it out, her heart pounding loudly when she heard him step up behind her.

When she didn't turn around immediately, he got slightly worried, "Ran…you okay?"

Ran opened her mouth to respond, but was surprised when she felt that lump again. She wanted to think about her answer for a moment, but she also sensed that she shouldn't keep her thoughts to herself. She wanted to express everything to him.

Sighing to lift her courage, she threw the towel over by her dresser, finally turning around to face him. She saw the concern in his eyes and couldn't help but smile. Her hands traveled up her stomach, over her breasts, and lingered on her neck as though she was fiddling with a strand of beads.

"I'm perfect, Shinichi," she shrugged as though it were obvious, wanting so badly to take him in her arms again, "I finally got what I wanted."

His body began to relax but quickly tensed up again when he saw the anger flash in her eyes.

__

'Oh boy…now that the passion segment is done, here comes the wrath…'

"Shinichi, how dare you," she accused with surprising calmness, "You knew all along and you didn't even say anything."

He looked down in shame, knowing he deserved anything she threw at him. He looked back up so she could see his sincerity, "I know, but I didn't—."

Ran held up her hand for him to stop, shaking her head, "No, I don't want to hear any of the details right now about how and why. I just…" she bit her bottom lip and held her arms out before roughly dropping them to her sides, "I just don't understand why you didn't tell me. You _saw _me crying over you! You _knew _how much I missed you and how much I worried about you!"

Shinichi clearly picked up the hurt in her voice, wincing every time he heard her voice crack. The last thing he wanted was to make her cry now. He wanted to get past that. However, he knew before you could get past anything, you had to deal with it.

"I can't even count all the times I've cried over you. And did…" a tear slipped down her cheek, "and did you even shed a single tear in shame for having kept it a secret? Have you?" She took a step closer to him, looking him right in the eye for a good answer. Actually, it was more rhetorical, for she knew Shinichi never cried.

Shinichi stared down at her for a good minute before finally replying honestly, "No, I haven't."

Ran nodded when her suspicions held true; not expecting what was to come next.

"Because you would never have been able to see me cry," Shinichi continued, taking note on how wide her eyes became. "Every time you cried, I was right there watching without you even knowing. I suffered along with you, but if I cried as Conan…would you even know why? And if reasons for tears are unknown, what's the purpose behind them?"

"Shinichi, I…" Ran tried to stop him, not wanting him to go into an explanation, especially after she spotted tears rimming his eyes.

"I've witnessed you crying many times, Ran…and I know what you mean by all the little things eventually adding up into one big thing. I've waited until this moment to let all the little things go…" Shinichi sucked in a deep breath, not being able to help but close his eyes as he felt an unfamiliar sensitivity strike his nerves. Two tears escaped his eyes, the objects as foreign to his face as man was when they first went to the moon.

"I wanted to show you…" his eyes clenched as he reached out and grabbed her shoulders, "all the years of built up frustration I've kept inside of me." A sob finally broke lose what little resistance he put up. It actually made Ran quiver in fear, never having seen him like this. She gasped when he dropped to his knees in front of her. He rested his cheek against her stomach as his arms wrapped around her waist. He cried for all the years he made her cry, for all the times he let her down, for every moment he wasn't there for her like she wanted.

And Ran could do nothing but stand there and run her hands through his hair as she waited for him to calm down. She would have told him this all was not necessary for him to prove a point to her, but she could tell it went much deeper than that. His weeping was not just for her disappointment; it was for his own as well.

When his tears began to die down, she gently had him stand up and walked over to the bed. Laying down first, she then opened her arms for him to join her, which he did instantly. She held him as much as he held her, so no more words were spoken. It was their silent agreement to wait until daybreak for any further discussion and for the truth to finally sink in fully. That early morning belonged to them, simply, and they wanted nothing to destroy that.

Whoo! Long chapter! But I decided to make up for the break that I took from updating. Sorry it took so long. . School kept my busy. I can't really say the stories coming to an end yet, but this was basically the climax and the falling action is always shorter than the rising action.

Thanks for all your wonderful reviews!


	10. Who To Be?

**__**

Over the Years

IX.

The next morning, sunshine actually came shining through the window. The rain had slowed to a drizzle once again, though thunder still clapped lowly in the distant. Not being able to hold onto sleep any longer, Shinichi's eyes squeezed together before slowly opening.

It took a few minutes for his eyes to focus, only being able to see a blurry pillow and blankets.

"Uhh…Ran?" He questioned, picking his head up and squinting. She wasn't there. He would have begun thinking everything that happened earlier was just a dream if he wasn't in Ran's bed. He groaned and let his head fall back to the pillow.

Though he was still tired, a smile found its way to his lips when all the memories can crushing forth. It's weird how he felt like the night/morning before was the worst he ever had, yet the best he ever had.

__

'Ran said she didn't love me anymore…why would she say something like that? Obviously she was lying. What was her motive…' Sadly, Shinichi couldn't figure it out, stating that women were still a mystery he couldn't figure out.

A delicious aroma filled his senses, making him breathe in deeply. He smirked as he sat up, ready to give her a morning greeting.

"I wonder if she's wearing anything…" he mused aloud. He stood up and stretched, planning on heading to the bathroom first. Looking into the mirror, he finally felt good about himself after many years. He could look at himself without the glasses and not feel as though he were hiding behind them. He could look at himself as Shinichi and show the world that, also.

Or, at least, Ran.

He didn't know what plan of action he was going to take now. His hand reached up to run gently across the mirror. _'Who am I, really?' _Though Ran knew who he was now and even called him Shinichi numerous times last night…Shinichi was still dead to the rest of the world. Conan had taken his place and everyone—even Shinichi himself—had accepted it.

What about Ran, though? Shinichi was still number one to her, that much was obvious. However, could he turn back into Shinichi for her and still—

"Shinichi? Are you up?" He heard her calling from the living room. He witnessed his eyes brightening upon hearing her voice. He left his image to go to one he liked more. He stepped out of the bathroom and into the living room, the sight of her taking his breath away.

She was wearing one of his blue tee shirts, the bottom coming down to about three inches below her thighs. She saw him staring and peeked down at herself quickly, blushing, "I hope you don't mind. It just came out of the dryer and it was so warm that—."

"It's fine, Ran," he stopped her, smiling at some of her shyness that still lingered, "I've always wanted to see you walking around with just my shirt on." He said it so suggestively, he even surprised himself. When he felt himself blush, he laughed inwardly, thinking he was just as shy as she was.

"Oh, I'm wearing shorts, too," she said simply, lifting the shirt a little to reveal boxer shorts.

His eyes going dull, Shinichi felt like falling over from the stupid moment, but decided to let it slide. He was sure there would come a day when she would have nothing else on. He snapped out of his thoughts when she laughed nervously, her fingers fumbling with the hem of the shirt.

And then as though she was a little girl looking for a comforting hug, she raised her arms. Silently, he closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her waist, her arms going around his neck. Ran stood on her tiptoes to have a better hold, leaning her body against his.

"I was so scared to go to sleep last night thinking I would wake up and find that you left," she admitted, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

He chuckled lowly, "I don't think I would be able to leave you for anything after what happened."

Her nervous laughter continued, her heels now touching the floor as she pressed her forehead to his chest. His fingers wrapped around his arm, her feet taking steps backward to pull him to where she wanted. He followed without a complaint, their movements looking quite awkward if anyone else had been watching.

Smiling, he rested his chin on top of her head, once again breathing in the scent of breakfast, "Mm…something smells good, Ran. What—."

Before he could get another word out, she pushed him away roughly. He was too surprised to catch his balance properly, but was glad that she moved him over to the couch so the furniture could catch his fall. His eyes widened when he looked up at her, knowing that flaring, angry glare he was receiving.

He gulped rather loudly, "R-Ran?"

"Now that it's the next day and we can finally have our "heart-to-heart" talk," she started, quoting the words with her fingers, "I'd like to start off by saying How dare you, Kudou Shinichi!"

"Uh…uh?" was all he managed to get out. Weren't they just snuggling a moment ago?

"For all these years…all these years! You kept your real identity a secret from me! How you managed to hide it so well will forever baffle me, but that's not the point. The point is that you _did _hide it! From me! _Me_, Shinichi, _me!"_

He opened his mouth to say something, but she held up her hand to stop him, "I'm talking here. Don't interrupt me." She sounded so frustrated, her face already flushed from her quick outburst, that Shinichi did all he could to hide a small smile. When she screamed through clenched teeth, however, he wiped the smile away, not wanting to make her angrier. He watched her pace back and forth for a moment as she let off steam.

"And it's one thing that you "disappeared"…but using my house as a hide-away? Without my even knowing? How…how…" she tried desperately to look for the right words, "How could you!"

His eyes lowered, mostly to hide his slight amusement. Yes, he did know how serious this talk should be, but by the way things were going, she could hardly talk at all. Slowly, he raised his blue orbs to her, "You have no idea what to say right now, do you?"

Surprised at his question, she stumbled over her words for a moment. Finally, she just threw her hands in the air, "No! No, I have no idea what to say. How ironic is that! For years I've practiced what to say to you when I saw you again, but now…I-I can't remember!" Her eyes looked so wild, Shinichi's eyes filled with enjoyment.

She noticed this, her back straightening firmer as though a steel rod was placed in her spine, "I even practiced what to say when I did find out you were really Shinichi when I went through your things in your room!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She placed her hand over her lips hard, like she was slapping them for being bad.

She just admitted she went through his private things. She could only hope he wasn't too mad. But as she continued to see that soft smile linger on his lips, she had to raise a brow questioningly.

"Shinichi?" she asked cautiously, "You're not mad at me…are you?"

He shook his head, "No, I already know you went through my things."

Her eyes widened, the blush returning, "You do?"

Shinichi laughed at her surprise, "Ran, it can't be that much of a shocker, can it?" When she didn't answer, he continued, "I'm a detective. It's a habit of mine to notice little things. And I know that box and the things in it weren't the way I left them."

Blinking, she still looked confused, "But…if you knew all along…why didn't you say anything?"

He leaned forward, entwining his fingers together in front of him, "Why didn't you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked anxiously, lowering herself to sit beside him.

He sighed and turned towards her, "Since you knew I was Shinichi…why didn't you confront me about it? Why did you keep letting it linger on? And before you ask me why I didn't tell you…it was because I was trying to get up the nerve to."

She opened her mouth, but this time, he held up his hand to stop her, "Ah, Ran…it's my turn to talk now."

Ran couldn't help but smile as he mocked her.

"That's not my only question. Last night, you gave me a speech about how you didn't…love me anymore. What was the point in that? Did you say that 'cause you knew it would hurt me and this was your means of revenge?" His tone was more curious than angry or sad, leaving the question hanging oddly in the air.

Ran leaned the side of her head against the couch, "I guess I have just as much explaining to do. Well…I didn't confront you about it, because I thought you would be mad at me for snooping through your things. And I didn't want to lose you forever because of something that stupid. I kept…trying to get you to spill the truth. I don't know if you noticed or not, but I tried to drop a lot of hints."

Shinichi smiled, "I noticed…"

"Well…then…" she groaned, "Shinichi, if you saw that I looked through your things and you noticed that I kept giving you hints, why the hell didn't you tell me!" She became frustrated again.

Shifting uncomfortably, he was surprised when she stumped him, "Wow, I…I don't really know. I guess something in the back of my mind thought that maybe you didn't read anything, but instead just looked through the little odds and ends."

Ran kicked him in the shin, seeing his face go red with pain, "Why did we put ourselves through this torture?! We could have just—."

"Ran!" he interrupted her, rubbing his shin to ease the pain. Kami, why did he have to love such a violent woman? "You still didn't answer my other question. Why did you say that?"

Inadvertently, she shifted her guilty eyes away from him, "That was just another one of my pitiful attempts, I guess. It was stupid, I know. I hurt myself hearing the words." She looked to him again to show him her sincerity, "I thought that if I told you I couldn't hold onto a memory anymore, that you would just come out and tell me that it was really you. I thought you would confess everything right there…but then you didn't." She stated the last part a bit sadly.

He stared at her with wide eyes, "I had no idea that was the point you were trying to get across to me…"

She laughed to break the moment, "I realize this. I guess your extended knowledge only goes so far."

"Yeah, I gue—hey!" he yelled when he caught onto the insult. They both laughed at themselves for a minute, lighting the mood so the uneasiness would lessen.

When the laughter began to die down, Ran boldly reached out and ran her finger down the side of his face. She smiled when she saw his boyish blush, "But seriously, Shinichi…when I saw that in depth paper about your condition and how the cure was still irretrievable, I was so confused. It explained so much and yet so little. And then your note to me admitting who you really were…that broke my heart. I realized that I left you all those years ago and I didn't even know it."

The right side of his mouth twitched, "Ran, you didn't leave me. You had to come here for college. Really, would you have stayed there if you knew the truth?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed like it was the most obvious answer and he asked the stupidest question. She saw his look of doubt and calmed down a little. "Well…I would have at least taken you with me so you wouldn't have to live with my dad," she giggled.

Shinichi shivered at the memory, "Don't remind me of those days." He grinned when Ran laughed some more. Shaking his head, he continued, "Anyway…don't you think that would have been a little more than awkward? You knowing who I actually was…us living alone…me being ten years old?" They both quirked a brow at each other.

"Weird…" Ran affirmed, nodding her head slowly, "that would have been…awkward…"

He nodded, "Yeah…and you would have turned into a child molester."

She gaped at him before smacking him on his shoulder, "Shinichi!" Though she criticized him and looked like she was about to die from embarrassment, she couldn't help the small pull tugging at her lips.

Ran stood up and began pacing again with her arms folding, ignoring how much enjoyment Shinichi was getting out of this. She decided to get back to the topic at hand, "Anyway, so Ai-chan was never able to find the antidote?"

Shinichi stopped laughing abruptly, suddenly looking as though it never occurred, "No, just a twenty-four hour one. That was how you were able to see me sometimes. I really don't know if she's still working on it."

"What if she is?" Ran asked, stopping in front of him, "And she gives it to you. Are you going to take it?"

Though it should have been, and often was, something Shinichi thought about, the question caught him off guard. _'What _would _I do? I mean…the whole appearance thing doesn't seem to matter anymore…I look just like I did when I was seventeen the first time.' _He glanced up at Ran to see her still staring at him. _'I guess it doesn't matter…Ran still looks the same age, too.'_

"I don't know what I would do," Shinichi confessed. "I'm two different people…Conan has become a part of who I am."

Ran started to shake her head, "Shinichi…you're you. He's you. Either way, it's you. The question wasn't meant to be hard, I was just wondering…"

"Yeah, but Ran…who do you want me to be?" He questioned her, causing her mouth to shut tightly. "You say he's me, but you also know that he's not. You never loved Conan the same way you did Shinichi, did you?"

"That's a stupid question," Ran remarked, scoffing at him by shaking her head.

He stared into her eyes and challenged her, "Then answer it."

Again, he said something that caused her to stumble over her words. She stuttered, trying to buy time on how to answer the question correctly. She covered her face with her hands for a moment, then looked back up, "Shinichi, it doesn't matter. You're the same person."

Shinichi shook his head, "It does matter. You want me to be Shinichi." She was about to deny it, but he beat her, "I'm not ridiculing you on the matter, I'm just saying what's true. As soon as it was out in the open, you began calling me Shinichi again and you still are. So…this means that Conan's out of the picture."

It shocked Ran how depressed that made her. Even though she just got done telling him that he was the same person either way…hearing that Conan would be "out of the picture" was more than a little disturbing. Shinichi was her one true love, but Conan was her darling little brother. Her eyes widened. _'No way…'_

She shook her head roughly to get the thoughts out of her mind, "Shinichi, it doesn't matter. I'll have—."

"It _does _matter," he intervened, "If I'm going to become Shinichi again, I have to make Conan disappear some how."

"Then…just do what you did to make yourself disappear," she said, not too enthusiastically. She was beginning to not like this conversation at all. It was making her feel uneasy.

Shinichi shook his head, "You know how hard that was? I—," he stopped himself short and let out a breath, "There's another thing…the reason I changed my name in the first place: The Black Organization. They might hear my name once I release it again and come looking for me."

Ran remembered seeing them mentioned in Ai's exegesis document, "They wouldn't really be looking for you after all these years…would they?"

He stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head, "I have no idea…"

As they both went silent, Ran began feeling guilty about putting all this pressure on Shinichi. She again sat next to him, threading her arm through his, "Don't worry about it, Shinichi. As I said, you're you and that's all there is to it. I'll take you any way I can get you." Smiling, she leaned in and kissed the side of his mouth.

He smiled weakly at her, "Arigatou, Ran."

She nodded and kissed him again, then again, "Anyway, how about I warm up that breakfast for you?" She asked, standing up and heading toward the kitchen. Shinichi watched her go, absently looking at the wall clock to see that it read a little have eleven thirty. He looked down and sighed again. Though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders now that Ran knew his big secret, he still felt skeptical.

He held out his hands, palm up, and looked at them with shaky eyes. He wanted to go back to being Shinichi for her…he did for many years…but what about Conan?

__

'Who am I?'

::hides face:: I am so, so, so, so, _so _sorry for taking this long to update! Time just…flew by so quick, I didn't even realize it. I've been really busy though (as I try to avoid making excuses). Not only that, but I did have a minor writer's block. I hope I didn't drive all you guys away for taking so long! ::lip quivers in anticipation::

I do have some good news, though it doesn't really involve the story. I got accepted into the Navy! Yea! I took my oaths and such December 3rd and I'm to leave September 5th for boot camp…which kinda sucks because that's labor day. Ah well…I got a $50,000 scholarship for any college, which it also great. Just thought I'd share my good news with you guys.

Thanks for reading!


	11. Bad Before the Good

**__**

Over the Years

X.

"Hello, Suzuki-san? Yeah, hi, this is Mouri Ran, do you remember me? Sonoko's best friend, right. Hey, I was wondering if you would happen to have her number or an address or something for me to get in touch with—she's there now? Really? May I speak with her?" Ran smiled as she talked on the phone.

Her and Shinichi had spent the afternoon just talking about old times, sitting closely on the couch. They enjoyed listening to the steady rhythm of the rain hitting the windows to create a relaxing and soothing atmosphere.

Around three, Shinichi decided that he should check his cell phone to see if he had any messages from Megure. As it turned out, he had many and had to call him back to cover a few things. Ran let him be for the moment, unsure of what to do. It didn't take her long to make up her mind to call her old friend, Sonoko.

Even though the two hadn't spoken in many years, Ran still thought of her as a friend. And even though she tried to act like it had been no more than a month since they talked, she still got nervous butterflies in her stomach.

Hearing Sonoko and her father have a small talk in the background wasn't helping any, causing her fingers to trace the thin lines of the couch cushions. Finally, she heard Sonoko's voice come on the line, sounding just as it did ten years ago.

"Ran? Is this really you?"

"Of course it is! Sonoko, how have you been?" Ran asked, a smile lighting up her face.

Sonoko sighed, "Okay, I guess. Luck hasn't really been on my side so I've been through a lot of hell. Too bad you weren't around, you could have helped me out a lot."

"Eh, heh…" Ran laughed nervously, yet a little relieved that Sonoko sounded like she didn't change at all and this was just another one of their high school phone calls. "Why do you say that?"

"Oh, you won't _believe _it!" she cried in her drama queen way, "I've met so many perfect, eligible men when I went to college and moved around. I swear! They all seemed so right at the time…until I married them."

Ran's eyes widened, wondering if she heard right, "Um…married _them?_"

"Uh-huh, I've been at the altar five times already. I'm beginning to get sick of just thinking about the word. Whenever I pass a church I want to start pulling my hair out! But I won't, because that would just be kinda psycho-like…" she added, not even trying to make the last part funny. She sounded so exasperated and was saying so much, Ran had to wonder if Sonoko was expecting her call and was going over all the things she should say.

"Five? Sonoko, why are you getting married so much? Don't you know who the right guy is before you marry him?" She knew she had laughter in her voice, but was having a hard time hiding it.

"Well…no," her friend admitted in a defeated tone, "You really don't open your eyes until you can look at him and call him your husband. And so far, I felt disgusted about it. I swear, guys are so much cuter when you're just dating them."

Ran rolled her eyes, "I doubt their looks change because of that. But haven't you learned your lesson yet? I mean…it must take a lot of time to set up the wedding and then a lot more to go through a divorce."

"Not too much. I haven't actually been married in a church with a big wedding. Just a little chapel to get eloped," she laughed harshly, "I'm also getting annoyed with all the weird impersonators out there as the witness. What a life, you know? Anyway, I was able to get a divorce easy with four of them because we didn't get to consummate. I got freaked out just thinking about it."

Though they were talking over the phone, Ran still blushed at her forwardness, wondering if it was healthy that Sonoko could just admit all this plainly.

"Enough about me for right now," Sonoko suggested, "What about you? Did you finally move on and get married to a great guy and have lots of kids?"

Ran smiled, "Not exactly…at least, not yet. You'll never guess what happened, though."

Sonoko gasped, "Oh my god, Shinichi came back to you!"

"…Okay, I take the back. You did guess it," Ran responded sadly, wishing she could have said it.

"I knew it would happen someday!" she explained, causing Ran to shake her head, "I often think about you and that old boyfriend of yours. It doesn't surprise me too much that you two are together right now. I swear, not a second went by that you weren't thinking about him. Was it like that even when you were in college? Did you fail any of your classes because of that?"

Same old Sonoko…asking too many questions at once.

"No, I passed surprisingly easy. I became that lawyer I set out to be."

"Oh, I bet that's boring, huh?" Sonoko commented, sounding bored just thinking about it.

Ran smiled, "Not really. It might seem boring to you, but I'm content where I'm at right now."

"I bet. So are you two at least engaged? That would be kinda weird if you weren't. Ten years of hidden romance and still just dating?" Ran could practically see Sonoko shaking her head, "Girl, that would be a waste. So when's the wedding? You better make me your maid-of-honor!"

"Shinichi and I? Engaged?" Just the thought made her tingle all over. Sure, she thought about it often, but now that he was actually with her, the feeling was more real. She looked over her shoulder to see if he was standing in the doorway. When she didn't see him, she continued, "Well, not yet to tell you the truth. But I'm hoping it doesn't take him that long. I've already waited so long for it to happen…"

Sonoko laughed, "If he doesn't propose, you could always do it."

"Me?" Ran laughed with her, "I can only imagine that one." Even though they were on the phone, Ran stood up and dramatically threw her free arm out to the side. She did a spin, her hair flying about her face, "Shinichi, oh, Shinichi!" she cried, getting more inspired when Sonoko laughed more at her exuberance. "I can't wait any longer! If you don't say it, I will! Marry me! Marry me!"

Upon doing one more complete spin, she stopped herself facing the hall. Her face froze instantly when she spotted him in the doorway. Automatically, she knew there was no way he couldn't have heard her. She was so caught up in the moment, she forgot he was right in another room. She imagined people outside could have heard her.

"Ran? Ran, what happened. Are you okay?" Sonoko asked her, sounding worried. When Ran still didn't answer, Sonoko tried harder, but stopped after a few moments. "Oh! Ran, I have to go. My boyfriend's here and we planned on going to the movies. I have your number on my ID, so I'll call you sometime, okay? Bai-bai!"

Ran distantly heard the click and then the dial tone, her thumb instinctively hitting the off bottom. Shinichi was grinning like a mad man, but she was as red as red could be. Embarrassed by her performance, she turned quickly and put the phone back on the charger.

She cleared her throat, "So did you miss a lot of work?"

When she didn't hear an answer, she slowly turned around only to not see him anymore. Curious more than anything, she went to the hall and looked both ways, "Shinichi? Where'd you go?"

"In here," he called from his room, her feet following his voice. When she walked into his room, he had his back toward her. She happened to spot the box she looked through sitting on his bed. Her heart began thumping suspiciously.

"Ran…" he began before she could say anything, "about eleven years ago, after I turned into Conan, I turned back into Shinichi for awhile. Do you remember that? I took you out to dinner."

Ran smiled at the memory, stepping closer to him, "I remember. That night felt like my birthday and Christmas in one. I was so happy to see you."

"Well…taking you out to dinner wasn't all I had in mind," he went on, turning around to face her. She noticed that he was holding something behind his back and smiled. She'd seen enough romance movies to get the hint.

"Yes…?" she urged him on, trying to hold back the impulse to pounce on him.

Shinichi sucked in a deep breath, getting the nerve to continue on, "Even though we were so young then, I knew I loved you more than anything. I also knew you felt the same way. I was tired of you worrying that someday I might not come back, or thinking that I found someone new. There was only one way I thought I could reassure you that you were the only one for me."

"Mm-hm…?" Ran stepped closer to him, excitement causing her adrenaline to pick up and her pulse to quicken.

Pausing, he looked down at her eagerness. It was obvious enough that she knew what he was going to ask, which made him relax. He finally mimicked her smile, "I never got to do it, which was something I regretted thereafter. That is…until now." He took his hand from behind his back, holding out a small, black velvet case.

Ran allowed herself to let out a small squeal of delight. She grabbed the box in anticipation, yet opened it up slowly to savor the moment. And seeing the beautiful engagement ring that he got her many years ago made her heart flutter and her eyes to sparkle.

"So what do you say?" She looked up at him as he spoke, "Will you marry me?"

She gave a short laugh and nodded vigorously, looking from him to the ring, "Of course I will." She stepped forward and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. She pushed him gently to make him sit on the bed, her left knee coming up to rest beside him. As they continued to kiss, he took the box from her and took the ring out. Breaking their lock for a moment, he grabbed her left hand and slipped the ring onto her finger.

He admired it for a moment. _'Finally…I get to see her wearing it…'_

She stared down at it also, before placing her finger under his chin to lift his head. She lowered hers for another kiss, feeling herself fall on top of him as he laid back.

In the back of their minds, they laughed at themselves. _'We're already acting like newlyweds.'_

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The storm ended two days later. Unfortunately, Shinichi's and Ran's pre-honeymoon had to come to an end when they both had to get back to work. That was a little harder on Shinichi's behalf. Though he was a private detective that could travel almost anywhere, he also belonged to an agency and his headquarters were back in Tokyo.

Shinichi brought this up to Ran, stating he had to go back for awhile before he could get transferred to Miyazaki.

"I'll go with you," Ran said immediately, hating the thought of being away from him again, "I'll just ask for my vacation time now instead of then."

Shinichi shook his head, "Ran, save it for when it matters most. It's going to be boring when I go back, just dealing with paperwork and such."

Though she understood and knew it would be better to save her vacation for their wedding time, she couldn't help but think how much she was going to miss him. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"To get things done and move here?" he questioned more to himself than her. "Umm…not quite sure, Ran. Approximately two to three weeks maybe."

She stared at him with her mouth open, "Two to three weeks?! That's like…forever, Shinichi!"

He couldn't help but laugh at her overstatement, "You sound like a little kid who was promised to be taken to an amusement park." When he saw that she didn't find that funny, he cleared his throat and embraced her, "The time will fly by, you'll see. And just for you, I'll try to move things along faster to make it one to two weeks." He grinned, "Sound better?"

"No," came her mumbled reply into his shoulder. She couldn't stop the smile from forming over her lips when he chuckled again.

"Oh come on, Ran…" he pleaded gently, slowly rocking her from side to side, "Just think, I'll leave and we'll miss each other so much that when I come back, it'll be just as good as the first time, hm?" He grinned when he finally got her to giggle. Shinichi ran his hand down her back and put his lips to her neck, "I'll come in the middle of the night sometime…you'll be sleeping nice and peacefully in your bed…probably having dreams about me…"

Ran tilted her head to the side to give him better access.

"I'll enter your room and just watch you for awhile. You'll unknowingly call out my name and I'll know that you want me just as much as I want you." He went on, his voice getting lower, deeper.

"My hands will roam your body…and you'll squirm while continuing to dream…" his hands went to her hips, sliding further down over her thighs.

Ran gasped from surprise and pulled away, laughing at his haughtiness.

"Want me to leave yet?" he asked, laughter in his voice.

She sighed and twirled his short hair around with her index finger, "I want you to be back already."

"Can't have one without the other," he commented, "Take the bad before the good." Shinichi smiled reassuringly when she continued to pout, "Just think about it this way: When I come back, I'll be back for good."

Finally, a genuine smile lit up her face. She tapped his nose once, "You always did have away with words, Kudou Shinichi," she said, leaning in to kiss him.

"No I didn't," he responded, their eyes almost closed with their lips barely touching.

"I know," she whispered before kissing him, both moaning lowly at the electrical charge.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled away, their lips moist from the contact. He ran his hand quickly through her hair, "I better get going. The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll be back."

She nodded in agreement to make it easier on both of them, "Be careful, Shinichi. I love you."

"Love you, too," he told her, backing up for awhile before finally turning around to disappear around the bend.

Ran smiled as she watched him go, pressing a hand over her heart.

"Nothing like getting hot and heavy at work," someone commented as they walked by her. She snapped out of her trance and looked around, blushing instantly when she realized everyone was watching her. Having been caught up in the moment, she had forgotten where they were.

Now laughing nervously, she quickly made her way to her office and shut the door. Ran went to her large window and looked down at the street below. A few minutes later, she saw Shinichi exit the building, reaching into his pocket to get his keys. She pressed her hand against the clear glass, wanting so badly to touch him one more time.

As if sensing her eyes looking at him, he stopped and looked up. He saw her and flashed a smile, waving goodbye. She waved also, which gave him the last push to travel the whole five hundred miles back to Tokyo.

-------

Sorry for the short chapter everyone. I just thought that was a good place to end it.

Thank you all for reviewing! I'm glad to know that y'all waited for me! I didn't hear from **tively-split** this time. Lol, felt kinda weird not getting criticized for everything (just kidding).

And a big thanks to **Lucathia Rykatu**! You gave me 200 reviews exactly! Heh, that was my goal for this chapter. For awhile, I thought I would be stuck on 199. But you did it! _You did it!_

Thank you all once again for making it possible for that 200!


	12. Conan or Shinichi?

**__**

Over the Years

XI.

A loud, insistent rapping at the door broke the serene silence in Ran's home. She was sitting at her couch looking over some documents when her mind got jolted out of concentration.

She looked at the clock. It read eleven-twenty-five p.m., "Who could that be at this hour?" she quietly asked herself, her heart thumping in anticipation. Going in auto mode, her legs walked her to the front door, her hand reaching out to grasp and turn the doorknob. She swung it open in one swift movement, her pupils dilating the moment she set eyes on the two police officers.

One spoke, "I'm sorry ma'am, but there's been an accident…"

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Ran gasped as she sat up in bed, her face feeling icy cold rather than unnaturally warm. The sheets and blankets were wrapped around her legs, her hair a wild mess.

"A dream…" she mumbled, trying to convince herself that she was awake, "It was just a dream…"

Giving her heart time to settle down, she slowly lowered herself down to the bed, her eyes blinking rapidly. This sort of thing had been happening to her for the last few days; in the time span of when Shinichi left. Ran didn't exactly know why she was having dreams about something awful happening. She just couldn't shake off the feeling of anxiety and uneasiness. Of course, she kept telling herself that she was being ridiculous. Shinichi could take care of himself.

"There's nothing to worry about…" she repeated the line she had been reciting for the last couple nights. It worked better than counting sheep.

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"Ah, home again," Shinichi said as he just turned onto a familiar street that he was used to seeing almost everyday of his life. He smiled when he recognized the same old stores and restaurants, filled with the same old people. Though Shinichi was excited about moving in with Ran in Miyazaki, he still couldn't help but feel a little sorry he was leaving Tokyo. After all, it had been his home for all of both of his lives.

He knew Megure was expecting him, so he was planning on stopping by the office first. He identified the police station where they were appointed to meet and pulled into the lot to park his car. He was so excited about being back; he quickly got out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut. However, he couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty from his mind. Why did he feel so naked?

Looking down at himself, he found that he was fully clothed. _That's a relief. _He teased himself. His eyes reverted to the inside of his car where he spotted his glasses case seated on the passenger side. Shinichi blinked rapidly.

What was, after all, meant before was that Megure was expecting _Conan. _Of course, Shinichi had this sort of talk with himself before. Ran wanted him to be Shinichi. Therefore, he should be Shinichi…right?

Nodding his head once with determination, he walked away from his car, ready to enter the police station fully exposed.

Sadly, he wasn't as ready as he thought.

"Damn…" he hissed under his breath as he entered the station, fixating his glasses more comfortably on his nose. He cleared his throat before sticking his hands in his pockets and heading towards Megure's office.

"Edogawa!" Megure exclaimed as soon as Shinichi entered. He stood up from his desk and went around to pat the younger man on the back, "Good to see you again, my boy. How was the trip back home?"

"Heh, tiring more than anything. I actually can't wait to get back to Mouri-san's place and take a long nap," he admitted, yawning to prove his point.

Megure nodded in understanding, "I bet, it was a long drive. Did you want to wait until tomorrow before we start doing all the paperwork? I can just imagine you falling asleep at my desk and getting drool on everything."

Shinichi chuckled, "I would love to wait for tomorrow, but at the same time, I would love to go to sleep knowing I already settled everything. Let's just get this over with."

"Sure thing," Megure agreed, going back around his desk to flop down in his chair. Shinichi pulled up the chair on the other side of the desk to get closer. He clasped his hands together as he waited for Megure to present all the necessary papers. A minute went by with them just staring at each other.

"Umm…" Shinichi looked from side to side, grabbing his glasses between his forefinger and thumb, "Is something wrong?"

Megure smiled, but it was more like a sad smile. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, "You know, Conan, I sure am gonna miss you when you leave. Besides Kudou, you were one of the best partners I ever had. It's gonna be hard to replace you, kid."

Shinichi looked down quickly, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. '_Come on, Kudou…you told Ran who you really are. You're Shinichi! You're going to be Shinichi from now on, so it's best if you start telling everyone now.'_

He looked back up when Megure put a couple manila envelopes in front of him. Without any words, Shinichi reached for the top one and flipped it open.

333333333333333

After a couple of hours, Shinichi was finally free from the station and was pulling away. He was thinking about heading back to Kogorou's home to take that nap, but figured he would go get something to eat first. He drove around before he decided on where to eat, trying to figure out which place was his favorite.

As midday began to approach, the streets became heavy with traffic and huge groups of people almost continuously walked from side to side on the crosswalks. Though it was often annoying getting trapped in this chaos, Shinichi couldn't help but smile at the always-on-the-go atmosphere.

As the day was just then getting ready for night, the sun became lower in the sky, taking on a deeper red color. The extreme brightness it still possessed shimmered off any and every car window, making the glass more red-purple than clear.

Shinichi knew he would get to a place faster and easier if he parked his car and walked, so he did just that. It didn't take him long to begin going with the flow, hardly stopping even when the people didn't have the right-of-way.

"Konnichi wa, Edogawa-san. How are you today?" Shinichi got addressed more than once on his way to his favorite restaurant, quickly remembering how many people actually knew of him. In Tokyo, he was on top. He was the famous celebrity that didn't always get harassed every time he was spotted in the daytime. He was the one that people respected and depended on to keep them safe from murderers and thieves.

It was hard for him to do anything more than give a nod in response, knowing he was going to leave them soon. He kept his head down most of the way there.

"Conan?" he heard when he was right in front of the restaurant he wanted. He was ready to just give a quick wave and enter, but there was something about this person that was different from the rest.

The soft, feminine tone rang bells of recognition, not to mention this person addressed him personally. Looking up, he cracked a smile when he saw who it was.

"Ayumi. Hey, how are you?" he asked, dropping his hand to his side before he opened the door. It had been awhile since he seen her, almost over a year, although they didn't live that far from each other. Things just seemed to get too uncomfortable when Ayumi began coming onto him too strongly.

Her smile seemed almost as forced as his. Nevertheless, it brightened her eyes. Shinichi couldn't deny that she had grown into a very attractive young lady. She was a little taller than Ran, her legs nicely shaped due to all the activities she was constantly involved in. She had an hourglass figure she didn't mind showing off. Ayumi had high cheek bones and innocent eyes; her soft brown hair still shoulder length to frame her face perfectly. Overall, she was practically every guys fantasy that hardly anyone could get.

"I'm doing fine. Just doing some shopping," she paused, debating if she should further the conversation or not, "How about you?"

He nodded, "Same here. Well, I'm not shopping, but I was planning on grabbing a bite to eat."

"Oh," Ayumi replied, nodding more than necessary also. It was easy to see that they both felt awkward, but still determined to say more.

"Umm…would you like to join me?" Shinichi asked, hoping he wasn't going to regret it. It was never that pleasant to eat in a moment of uneasiness, and he felt like he really needed to get something in his stomach before he fainted.

This time, her smile seemed genuine; "I would love to."

Shinichi opened the door for her, smiling as she said a thank you. She led him to a corner booth, both of them sliding in at different sides of the table. Shinichi couldn't help but have a flashback of when he first met up with Ran in Miyazaki and they dined in a place quite similar to the one he was in now.

The menus were already on the table, so they looked over them with a lot more concentration than was ever needed to read a menu. Already they didn't know what to say to each other and they just got there.

"What will it be?" the waitress asked, her little notepad and pencil waiting.

"Uhh…" Shinichi stammered, realizing that he had been more busy being nervous than actually looking at the menu. He picked the first thing that his eyes stopped on, hiding a smile when Ayumi said she would have the same.

Once the waitress left, they were once again in silence.

"So what—," they both began at once, desperate to start a conversation.

They laughed and Ayumi waved her hand, "You go first."

Shinichi shrugged and took his chopsticks out of their package so he could play with them, "I was just going to ask what you've been up to."

Wanting desperately to hold the discussion up, Ayumi began quickly, "I would love to say that nothing much has been going on…but that's not the case. I'm trying to get into college, but I never realized how hard it is. I have an interview with one in a couple of days, which is why I was shopping. I thought I had better get something new and nice to where. Gotta make that good first impression."

Shinichi laughed gently, "I'm sure you'll get accepted easily, Ayumi. You're a smart girl. Colleges usually look for those."

Ayumi smiled at the compliment; "I hope so. It seems like none of my other friends are going to college. They just said they don't want to." She paused before laughing lightly; "Do you remember Mitsuhiko and Genta?"

"How could I forget?"

"Yes well, they're planning on taking up a career like yours. They still want to become those detectives that they think they are," Ayumi shook her head but with an amused smile playing on her lips, "I swear, they still think they're better than you." She scrunched her face up as she deepened her voice to imitate them, "'If Conan can do it, we can do it. People always thought we were the ones helping him to solve crimes, but it was the other way around!' "

He chuckled, "Sounds like the same old Mitsuhiko and Genta."

She nodded, "They didn't change that much, that's for sure."

As their laughter died down and their food came, Ayumi got upset that Shinichi didn't talk when it was his turn. She picked up a piece of shrimp with her chopsticks, ready to spice up the conversation.

"My parents say I shouldn't really worry about college. They said I should find a nice, young man to settle down with and have him take care of me," she explained, chewing the shrimp, "But I don't agree with that. Men nowadays like independent women, don't they, Conan?"

His eyes widened when she directed such a question at him, sounding almost as though she demanded an answer. He continued to eat for a few moments, debating on how to answer her question, "Well…I suppose a lot do. I can't speak for the whole guy population, though."

Ayumi was taken aback from that answer, having expected something different. Her eyebrows furrowed downward, "I also think that eighteen is too young to get married. I mean, there's so many choices out there, why settle down so quickly? You should try dating for a couple of years. Don't you agree?"

Shinichi choked on a piece of food, clearing his throat to get it out. It was easy enough; he just couldn't understand why she was asking so many questions. What made her really want his opinion in the first place? They hardly knew each other anymore.

"Conan?" she questioned when he didn't answer right away.

"I guess…I guess that sounds reasonable. But once again, I can't speak for the whole population or anything." For now, he decided to stick with that answer. It seemed safe because it could go either way. It also got her to stop asking. It reminded him of the old cure parents used on children when they kept asking "why". The big, unpredictable answer was simply "because".

Until, of course, they asked "because why?"

"What the heck is that supposed to mean Edogawa Conan?" she asked harshly, her big eyes brightening with fury, "I'm asking _your_ opinion not the whole worlds!"

"Why does it matter so much to you?" he asked calmly.

"Why does it—Conan, you're making this into a bigger thing than it was ever supposed to turn into!" she defended herself.

"On the contrary, Ayumi. I said what I wanted to say, but you're the one who's trying desperately to change my answer," Shinichi did all he could to hide his smile. Ever since they turned thirteen, he always did have a habit of saying something that would make her angry. If he recalled right, he did the same to Ran.

Ayumi gasped at his accusation; "I'm not desperate! _You're_ the one who's infuriating!"

"At least I won't deny it."

"You know, Conan, you didn't change one little bit!"

By now, Shinichi had no choice but to let out a laugh, "Is that bad?"

The question threw her off guard as she went into a stuttering rampage. When Shinichi continued to laugh, a smile finally replaced her scowl. She looked down at her food and felt herself blush. She knew that was a bad sign. Over the few years they didn't see each other, she was able to let go of her romantic feelings toward him, but it felt like they were gushing forth once again.

In the end, she couldn't help but ask, "So…did you find anyone?"

Shinichi looked up at the same time she did and filled with panic quickly. He recognized that look in her eyes. It was the look of longing she had for him from the beginning of junior high when hormones began flying.

He looked away quickly, "I have."

"Oh…" she responded, her voice dripping with disappointment. They were both silent for a long moment before she spoke up again, "I heard from different resources that you were over at Miyazaki. You couldn't have found anyone over there, right? You weren't even there that long. So it has to be someone around here. Do I know her?"

Shinichi sighed. He was hoping the talk wouldn't come to this, but he knew Ayumi wouldn't let it go until he answered, "No and yes."

"Huh?" Ayumi asked, smiling to hide her sorrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means: No, she's not someone around here because I did find her in Miyazaki, but yes, you do know her." Shinichi explained as simply as possible, continuing to eat.

Blinking a few times, Ayumi sat forward, "I don't get it. If she's from Miyazaki, how would I know her?"

"Because she's _originally _from around here," Shinichi said. He wasn't sure if Ayumi remembered that Ran went there for college or not. It had been eight years ago and he only mentioned it to her once or twice. Even so, Shinichi wasn't sure if she would make the connection or not.

Seemingly, she didn't, "I…don't think I know anyone that moved to Miyazaki."

"She moved there a long time ago, so you probably don't remember her. That's okay, don't worry about it." He said, the period at the end very distinct, as he wanted to drop it.

Ayumi got the hint, "Oh. I haven't found anyone yet. Every guy I meet seems to be too immature."

"Maybe you just set your standards too high," Shinichi suggested, finishing off his food.

"It's hard not to," she mumbled.

Shinichi didn't even want to ask why. Doing so might end badly. He simply accepted it at that, which actually seemed to disappoint Ayumi even more. Looking out the window, Shinichi noticed that the sun was pretty well under the horizon now, dark blue taking over the sky.

"Do you need a ride home, Ayumi?"

"Iie, I can walk."

Shinichi shook his head; "It's too dark. I can drive you home; it's no problem. In fact…" he looked out again to see couples walking comfortably, "it looks like a warm night. I'll just drive back to my place and then I'll walk you the rest of the way. How does that sound?"

Her eyes averted away from his, "I don't know…"

"Come on, what harm can it do?" He urged her on. Though the teenage girl was a little overwhelming, he didn't want to split with her on a bad note again.

In the end, he got her to agree. He paid for both of them and he showed her to his car. When they both got it, she commented on how nice his ride was.

"Too bad it's going to take awhile to pay it off," he commented; though it was just for show. His parents gave him enough money to pay it all up front with no worries of interest.

They talked a little about when they were eight and some of the crazy adventures they had, keeping their minds occupied off the here and now. They arrived at the Mouri residence quicker than expected. They were soon walking toward Ayumi's home.

Silence circled around them once again, but they couldn't be quite sure if it was comfortable or, once again, awkward.

"Do you mind if I ask you something, Conan?" Ayumi asked abruptly.

Shinichi stole a glance at her before nodding, "You can ask."

Ayumi seemed to hesitate a moment before quickly asking, "How serious are you with this girl from Miyazaki?"

Shinichi sighed silently. Somehow, he knew she was going to ask that question sooner or later. Oh well, she deserved to know instead of living with false hope, "I'm engaged, Ayumi."

The silence thickened. Shinichi could even feel himself begin to sweat when they made it over half way to her house and she still didn't utter a syllable. She kept quiet until they made the last turn, her house able to be seen from a quarter of a mile away.

"I don't understand, Conan…" she drifted, but continued quick enough to beat him from asking any questions, "How could you go to a place five-hundred miles away and get engaged with a girl you just met…and yet you never even gave me a try."

"It's not like that, Ayumi," Shinichi responded gently, knowing he was walking on thin ice, "I've actually known this girl all my life."

"But you said she moved there a long time ago!" Ayumi stopped walking determinedly, "You had to have forgotten about her over time!"

Shinichi shook his head; "Sometimes I thought the same way. But I never did forget her."

"What…but why? What makes her so special that you're so sure that you got engaged, and that…that…" Ayumi got herself tongue-twisted and before either of them knew it, tears of frustration slid down her cheeks.

"Ayumi, don't get yourself so worked up over nothing," he thought about saying more, but Ayumi was determined to get out her words first.

"It's not over nothing! How could you even say that? You—the one that said you couldn't forget about the girl you loved even after millions of years. You were my best friend, Conan! Even at a young age, I began to build my life around yours!" Ayumi screamed out her lack of fulfillment.

Shinichi was thinking about saying something along the lines of why she shouldn't have done that, but decided against it. How was she to know he was planning on courting a particular girl, after all? He never really said anything for her to believe such a thing. And the part about him being her best friend struck him hard. He and Ran were best friends and he couldn't imagine her not wanting to be with him. It would break his heart as much as Ayumi's heart was breaking now.

Instead, he did what any normal best friend would do. He stepped forward and embraced her, wrapping her up with the most amount of comfort he could give her. Shinichi never recalled a time when Ayumi cried so hard and wondered how long she held it in. Certainly not as long as he had, thinking back to when he broke down in front of Ran.

"Conan…" she moaned his name through her tears, her young heart feeling as though it were getting torn to shreds, "why…"

He ran his hand up and down her back, "Okay, Ayumi, settle down now."

It takes strength to be gentle, but it also takes gentleness to have strength. That was the phrase running through Ayumi's mind and found that it applied to Conan. Where would she ever find someone as good as him?

Sniffling back the rest of her tears, she kept her face hidden in his chest, trying to dry her eyes on his shirt. After thinking she calmed herself down, she lifted her head, now just realizing how close they were.

With her heart and mind speeding up, she couldn't hold herself back when she lifted herself on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

Shinichi couldn't say he was shocked. It was kind of to be expected with the situation they were in. But for once, for he knew that was all there would be, he let her have her way. He didn't kiss her back, but he didn't pull away. Ayumi felt what he was doing, allowing herself to linger for a few more seconds before slowly pulling away.

She had never felt so weak as she did at that moment. She was unable to control herself, thus kissing him. He pitied her, so he allowed her. She was about to run, but knew she would regret that action forever. Besides, it wasn't like she saw pity in his eyes. She didn't exactly know what it was, but it wasn't what she feared. That was all that mattered.

"I wish you luck, Conan. Be happy," was her simple way of saying goodbye. She broke away from his embrace and began to walk herself home the rest of the way. And as they split ways once again, Ayumi had to wonder if they would ever cross paths again. She was lucky to have met someone like him, and she convinced herself to be grateful for that. _Who knows, _she thought, _maybe next time we'll meet under different circumstances and be together in the end.'_

Shinichi continued to watch her until she got to her house, making sure she was safe the whole way. His eyes saddened with each step she took, but he knew it was easier to leave it all as was.

__

'You'll meet someone you truly love someday, Ayumi. You don't love me though. You don't even know who I really am…'

With a heavy heart, he turned and went his own way, his eyes staring off into the distance.

__

'Sometimes…I_ don't even know who I really am…'_

Hello everyone…umm…sorry once again for not updating sooner. Like I said before, a lot has been going on, but I'm still trying to write as much as possible. Plus, my phone hasn't been working and well…that's a big thing that connects me to the Internet where I can actually post what I have written.

I thought I would add this little segment in because some people were wondering what happened to everyone else. Well, now you know where Sonoko and Ayumi stand. As for Ai…that might not come until much later, if ever.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading and to all of you who faithfully review. -


	13. Denial or Disbelief?

**__**

Over the Years

XII.

"I hate you."

That was the greeting Shinichi got as soon as he walked in the door of the Mouri residence. He never even had time to shut the door. The atmosphere in the house made him feel as though he had been caught in some sneaky little scheme. All the lights were off; the only thing apparent through the darkness was the lit cigarette hanging out of Kogorou's mouth.

Sighing, Shinichi slid off his shoes on the place mat. Without giving Ran's father a second glance, he continued onward to the hall. He was heading to Ran's room, which became his after she left. Kogorou was happy to throw him that far, and Shinichi was pleased with it as well.

He closed the door on Mouri-san's mumbling and complaining. Shinichi took a wild guess and concluded that Ran had called her father to let him know—or rather, _warn_ him—he was showing up. Though…he had to wonder…was Conan or Shinichi supposed to show up?

As soon as he flopped down on the bed, he flipped his cell phone open. Somehow, he knew he had a message waiting for him.

"Shinichi, it's me," Ran's voice proclaimed, "I was just calling to make sure everything's okay. Call me if you run into any problems. Actually…call me even if everything's fine. Miss you and love you. Bai-bai."

Shinichi smiled and instantly called her. He laughed when she picked up on the first ring, "Hey Ran, what's going on?"

"Absolutely nothing," she responded dryly. Shinichi heard the television in the background.

"What are you watching?"

"An old black and white romance film."

"Ah…" he chuckled at her lack of enthusiasm. He got up and went over to the dresser. He opened the top drawer for some fresh nightclothes, "Care to tell me what it's about?"

Ran was silent for a moment; "I actually have no idea. Something about someone being restricted to something, so someone else does something to forbid the restriction."

"Oh! I think I've seen that one before!" Shinichi joked, now holding the phone between his ear and shoulder. He leaned over to take off his socks. Having said that, Ran finally laughed before the buzz of the TV was turned off.

"So what are you doing right now?" Ran asked, and Shinichi couldn't help but picture her folding her knees up and snuggling in the corner of the couch, her finger twirling around the cord.

Standing up, he began to unzip his slacks, "I'm actually stripping right now. Planning on maybe taking a quick shower soon so I can go to bed."

"Mmmm…sounds…" She let the sentence hang in the air. Smirking, Shinichi imagined a large spark flying off of some telephone pole and someone calling it an extraterrestrial event.

"I'm jealous my father gets to see you and I don't," she concluded.

The spark died and Shinichi stumbled to the floor, "Nani wa! See me how!"

Giggling, Ran responded: "I'm just kidding, Shinichi." She was quiet for another long moment, "So are you coming back soon?"

"Yes. Or at least, as soon as I can. I still got a lot to settle with Megure and all so…I did get a lot done today, though," he finished, hoping that would give her some hope to live off of until he returned to Miyazaki.

"Great. Eh—quick question. Did you tell anyone who you really are yet?"

Even though it was a simple question, one that could be answered with a blunt "no" in fact, it made Shinichi freeze. He sighed and sat heavily down on the bed. He pinched the area between his eyes after throwing off his glasses. He heard her call his name when he didn't answer, "Um…Ran, I don't know, but I have a weird feeling about this."

"About this? About what?" Ran asked, flustered just at the mentioning of his "weird feeling". Many times, Ran believed Shinichi to be somewhat of a psychic. It was impossible to think otherwise at times. His weird feelings got him into trouble more than once; however, that was with cases. There wasn't a case going on now—was there?

"About…me," Shinichi said, quickly realizing how strange that sounded. He shook his head to shake off the thought and stood up, "It's probably nothing, Ran. I'm just excited to get back to you."

"Shinichi—."

He cut her off, "Listen, I'm going to take that shower now. I'm beat. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

She didn't respond. He thought about just hanging up on her, but didn't like the idea too much. He already did his fair share of that with her throughout the years. He should at least allow her to give a proper goodbye now.

Just as he was about to speak again, her voice came through. It sounded small and distant, like an anxious, innocent child.

"Am I pressuring you too much, Shinichi?" she questioned, sounding apologetic before he could even answer.

Right away, his look of frustration faded into a look of guilt. He didn't mean to make her feel like she was pressuring him. Though he assumed it was hard for her not to think that.

"That's not it at all, Ran, don't think that," he told her, slumping back down on the bed, "I'm just under a lot of stress right now…but it's not because of you." He added quickly.

"Gomen nasai, Shinichi," Ran said anyway, "Goodnight."

And with that, the phone clicked rather loudly when she hung up. He tried calling her name once more just because before hanging up his phone also. Sighing once again, Shinichi grabbed the pajamas and headed toward the bathroom, ready to wash off the day's work.

Starting the water, he released a deep, relaxing breath when the hot spray hit his body. He tilted his head back and tried to let his problems slip away. They weren't so willing to simply disappear, unfortunately.

He couldn't help but think that maybe he did come off where he was blaming Ran for something. He tried to get rid of the thought right away. What did Ran do, after all? Want to be with him? Want him to be himself?

Not knowing who he was wasn't Ran's fault. Far from it. He came bursting into her life after many long years without any warning and she welcomed him back very openly. How could he ever accuse her of anything? _He _was the one that should have thought things out more. He had years and years to think things out!

Shinichi had been planning on revealing himself to Ran for a long time. He knew what came with that deal. And he thought he would be ecstatic to get the real him out. He made one little mistake, though. He forgot about revealing himself to everyone else. He knew Ran would accept him back into her life. But how was he to explain the situation to the rest of the world?

So much for being a genius and not thinking about that first.

The thing that got him the most, however, was that he really did want to become Shinichi again. There was something telling him that Conan was safer, though. Safer how? There're millions of possibilities.

But one stuck out like a sore thumb. One that Shinichi had been chasing after for some time now. No matter how many years went by, he could never forget the name.

The Black Organization.

Shinichi wasn't about to assume they were no longer out there somewhere. He wasn't about to assume they didn't remember the name Kudou Shinichi, either. He would be stupid and a bad detective if he believed in nothing but the best.

Then again, maybe it _was _okay to think of the best. He was moving to Miyazaki. He was starting a whole new life in a whole new place. He was going to get married. Someday, he was probably going to have kids. Nothing bad could happen after all that—right?

__

'Oh, who am I kidding?' He criticized himself, resting his forehead against the tiled wall. _'Having thoughts of the Black Organization someday showing up will haunt my mind forever. Especially when I have a wife and kids. If I can't even protect myself…how am I supposed to protect them?'_

He wondered how Ran would feel if he said it would be best if he stayed as Conan. It wouldn't be all that bad, would it? It's not like he would be a completely different person.

__

'Why do I always contradict myself on that? One minute I say I'm two different people, then the next I say there is no difference. Am I Shinichi or am I Conan?' Shinichi couldn't help but chuckle lowly as he turned off the water and stepped out to get dry, _'I sound like I need a psychiatrist badly.'_

After brushing his teeth and getting into his boxers, he went back to his room. He was planning on laying down immediately, but caught sight of himself in the mirror. _'Whom do I see in myself? …Why is this so damn hard? Is the answer obvious? Am I looking too far into nothing? Why am I asking myself so many questions?'_

Giving an almost growl like sound, Shinichi turned away from his image and hopped into bed. He shut off the night table lamp and stared into the darkness. Getting to the point where he was growing so tired he couldn't go to sleep; he closed his heavy eyelids over his burning eyes.

__

'Ran…I promise I'll figure this out soon.'

00000000000

The next couple of days flew by quickly. Actually, a whole week and a half went by with Shinichi hardly noticing. All the while, he was finishing paperwork with Megure, solving a few easy cases, and ignoring Kogorou.

It didn't occur to Shinichi until about the eleventh day that Ran's father might not even know about his and Ran's engagement. He had to wonder if Ran left it to him to tell. If so, he was going to have to reprimand her for that.

He wasn't even sure if Kogorou knew that he was moving in with Ran. Sure, Mouri-san knew that he went to go visit her, but upon his return, he never once mentioned Ran in front of him.

Over the years, they formed a silent, mutual agreement. If they ignored each other, things would go over smoothly.

However, Shinichi thought long and hard on how to handle this situation. Kogorou was going to be his—he shuddered—father-in-law after all. They had to get along at least a little bit. A couple of days before Shinichi was planning on returning back to Miyazaki, he decided to sit with Mouri-san and talk "things" out.

He thought of ways to handle it.

Would a demanding approach be good? Get him to believe he had to talk with him or else? He considered it, but pictured it all ending badly.

So he decided to go nicely with it: talk to him when he's not drunk off his ass and falling asleep. No use telling him something if he's not going to remember it, although that sounded like the easy way out.

He didn't mean to make himself seem nervous. He was more eager to simply get it over with. He knew Ran would be proud of him for trying to get along with her father.

It happened on the twelfth day, the day he was to head out west again. Kogorou was at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. Shinichi walked in silently and sat at the other end of the table, staring at the paper hiding Kogorou's face.

Shinichi cleared his throat; "I have some good news, Mouri-san."

Slowly, Kogorou lowered the papers, his right eyebrow raised. He folded the paper up neatly before setting it on the table. He clasped his hands together and leaned forward, "Kid, I would love to have some good news. Unfortunately for me, your kind of good news is usually bad news for me. See, there's two different versions of good news. One," he raised a finger, "good news that is spread all around, and two," he raised a second finger, "good news that's personal. Right now, I think your good news is personal.

"So to respond to your happy-go-lucky good news proclamation, I say…I don't care." And with that, he raised the paper to his face again so he wouldn't have to look at the boy across from him.

Shinichi blinked three times at the long, drawn out speech. _'Why was any of that at all necessary?'_

"Umm…whether this is good news for you or not, I think you should know," Shinichi said, getting over the astonishment that that was probably the most words Mouri-san's ever said to him in one sitting for a very long time.

"I don't care, I said!" Kogorou yelled, his patience running thin.

"But—."

"Shut up!"

"Ran and I are engaged."

There, he let it out and whether Kogorou liked it or not. And he was pretty sure he didn't like it. Shinichi saw his body stiffen, his fingers curling slowly to grip the paper viciously.

"What…" he lowered the papers, his right eye twitching with anger, "did you say?"

"I don't think there's a need to repeat it since you obviously heard me, but…I'll allow it to sink into your brain," Shinichi shot back just as harshly, upset that Kogorou got angry so quickly, though he should have been expecting it. "Ran and I…are engaged."

Kogorou didn't respond, so Shinichi continued.

"That's why I'm moving away from Tokyo. I'm going to Miyazaki. To get married to Ran." He paused and thought about saying something about babies, but thought better of it and let it be as was.

And after all that, all Kogorou could manage to get out was, "Damn. And I thought she was smart."

It was a direct insult, yes, but Shinichi remained calm. He was, after all, supposed to prove him wrong. Getting angry easily would only prove that he was short-tempered and, in other words, not right for Ran.

Kogorou burst into laughter after another long moment, "She was your baby-sitter! Isn't that a little…I don't know…awkward?"

"Actually…" Shinichi interrupted before he could say anymore.

__

'This is it…' he thought, resting his index finger on the top of his glasses. He revealed himself to Ran and now it was time to reveal himself to Kogorou. Out of all the people in Tokyo, he thought at least Ran's father deserved to know whom his daughter was marrying. Shinichi wasn't quite sure how he was going to take it. He didn't even know if Kogorou hated Shinichi or Conan more. He probably wouldn't approve either way.

So with that thought in mind, he swiftly freed his eyes, the glasses landing with a light _tink _on the table. Though it was a serious moment, Shinichi couldn't help but think about his metaphor for himself: "Superman turning Detective." He was glad he didn't have to change in some random phone booth, though.

Kogorou squinted. He squinted real hard and leaned across the table to get a better look. He looked so hard, Shinichi began to feel very uncomfortable.

"You know…"

Kogorou began, letting the words linger in the air.

"You look exactly like Kudou when he was your age."

The stupidity in the room couldn't have been more dense, no pun intended. Shinichi could do nothing but stare at Kogorou as the man stood up, getting ready to leave the room.

Shinichi jumped up quickly, slamming his hands on the table, "I _am _Kudou, old man! Don't you get it?"

"In that case…" Kogorou looked over his shoulder dangerously, "I absolutely forbid you to marry my daughter." He looked forward again, retrieved a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket, and stuck the drug in his mouth. Without any further comments, Kogorou disappeared into the hall and shut his bedroom door rather loudly.

"Oi!" Shinichi yelled after him, but ended up sitting back down. Kogorou didn't believe him. Either that, or he was in complete denial. But with his skills for seeing a certain look in people's eyes, he was almost positive that Kogorou thought he was insane.

He didn't know what else to do. There was no use in speaking with Mouri-san any further. That would only give both of them a headache.

"Well, my job's done," he finalized. It was up to Ran now to convince her father of whatever she wanted to convince him of. Already, he wished her good luck with that. Kogorou never liked Shinichi when he was just Ran's friend, and he wasn't going to like him now that he was her fiancé.

Shinichi headed back to his room also. Though it was quite early, he thought it would be best if he got many hours of rest. He would be leaving for Miyazaki the next day and needed to be rejuvenated.

Closing the door softly behind him, Shinichi walked over to the dresser, skimming it over quickly to make sure he didn't forget anything important. It was pretty well empty except for the bottom drawer where there was nothing but junk. Or so he assumed.

Crossing his legs to sit on the floor, he pulled out the drawer. A bunch of wrinkled paper was on top, along with some garbage that never made it into the trash. He pushed all this aside to dig deeper, grabbing a handful of things near the bottom. He threw almost everything back in the drawer, with the exception of one thing.

It was a photograph that became crinkled overtime, due to lack of care. He unfolded it, smiling instantly when he saw that it was a picture of him,—Conan—Ran, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, Genta, and Ai.

Of course, he couldn't forget his little run in with Ayumi on his first day back, but his encounters with Mitsuhiko and Genta were far from extravagant. He noticed them together the one day he was walking, but there was hardly a greeting.

They walked past each other with a simple nod and that was that. Just like Ayumi, he had grown away from the two boys; however, they didn't feel the great need to talk with him as Ayumi had.

His eyes skimmed over to Ai. She looked absolutely annoyed in the picture, but her gaze was toward Conan. Ran had her arms wrapped around his neck with her chin resting on his head. Shinichi could swear he also saw anger in Ai's eyes. Then again, she almost always looked like that.

He wondered where she was at this very moment. Out of all the people he knew, Shinichi really wished her could speak with Ai again. They didn't always get along perfectly, but they had their good times, too. Plus, he came to know her as a good friend, even if she didn't feel the same way about him.

__

'Is she still working on finding an antidote?' he thought, musing at the possibility that maybe she was Shiho Mayano again. Maybe she gave up on being the scientist and began a different profession as Ai Haibara. She always did seem like she wanted to make a new and better start for herself.

Shinichi hoped she did. She was a great person underneath it all and, despite the circumstances, thought highly of her. Maybe someday he will get to meet and talk with her again.

Taking one last look on the photo, he folded it again and stood up. The picture didn't deserve to be stuffed into the bottom drawer. He thought he should take it with him and have it in memory of fun times with his second childhood friends.

Though it was a short remembrance, Shinichi couldn't help but have a slightly different outlook on things. He didn't think he solved his identity crisis completely, but something told him that a solution would come soon.

Or, at least, he hoped so.


	14. Back to Tokyo

Over the Years

XIII.

"Five letter word, five letter word…" Shinichi repeated over and over to himself as he stared at the safe.

"Could it be Mouri?" Ran asked, looking over his shoulder.

Shinichi shook his head, "That would be too obvious. I think even your father can be more secretive than that."

She shot him a quick glare, "Fine, I'll let you work on it by yourself, then." She went over to the desk and began looking through papers again. Although she made it sound like she was punishing him, she was sure he would be able to unlock the code faster by himself anyway. The joys of being the sidekick.

Narrowing his eyes, Shinichi began to focus harder.

He couldn't believe the turn of events. He had left Tokyo to head back to Miyazaki. He didn't see too much more of Kogorou, but that was fine with him. If the guy didn't have anything nice to say, why bother?

Ran didn't think like that. She called Shinichi five times everyday in the three day period it took him to get back to her. Every call was the same. She would say that she just tried to call her father, but he wouldn't answer. She even tried his cell phone with no luck. Shinichi tried to tell her not to worry. He was probably just angry at both of them for getting engaged.

"I don't know…" she contradicted, sounding worried, "I have a bad feeling about this."

As soon as Shinichi entered what was now his home, Ran greeted him with tears brimming her eyes, "We need to go back to Tokyo."

"Nani!" Shinichi yelled, dropping the three bags he was carrying right in the middle of the floor, "But I just came from there!"

"I know, but…" she trailed off for a moment, as if unsure how to explain the situation, "My dad's been kidnapped."

He stared at her. There was nothing else he could do. His lips twitched, trying his hardest to suppress a smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't help but laugh, "Kidnapped?" Despite the death glare his fiancé was sending him, a few more chuckles escaped his mouth, "Leave it to your dad to be _thee_ fifty-year-old guy that gets kidnapped."

She punched him in the head for that one, knocking some sense into him, "I'm serious! Megure called me a little while ago, saying that he got a letter from whoever kidnapped my dad!"

This (along with the punch) got Shinichi to straighten out, "What reasons do they have?"

Ran shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself as she looked down, "I don't know. That's what I want _you _to figure out."

Shinichi instantly regretted making fun of her before. She was placing her trust in him to help her, and there he was, laughing as her choice of words. Sighing, he picked up two of his bags again and turned toward the door again, "Well, let's get going."

The look she gave him was enough for him to forget the fact that he was heading back to the place he just said goodbye to.

So now here they were, rummaging around in Mouri-san's office. Shinichi found a small safe in the bottom drawer of his desk, having a feeling that some kind of clue was hiding inside.

_'__I swear to God, if nothing's in here but a Playboy magazine…' _Shinichi tried to stray his mind from thoughts like this, but it was more than slightly difficult._ 'What would be more sacred to him than some naked women?'_

Shinichi tried to stray his mind from thoughts like this, but it was more than slightly difficult. 

He raised an eyebrow at the safe. It was a long shot, but…

With his index finger, he moved each small block to a letter, making sure each note was directly in place. He looked at the word he spelled out: WOMEN. He pulled on the lid, chuckling when it actually opened.

"Bingo!" He said, alerting Ran that he succeeded.

Her eyed widened as she went behind him to look in the safe also. She smiled, wrapping her arms around him, "You really are a genius."

"You just came to this conclusion?" He asked incredulously, though not expecting an answer. He set the open safe down on the desk before he began shuffling through all the papers that were kept inside.

Ran tried to keep up with his reading, hating the fact that he was a speed-reader. However, after he began to flip through them with lightening fast speed, she had to shake her head, "Shinichi, be serious. You're not even reading anything!"

When he didn't answer, she leaned to the side, "Shinichi?" She became worried when she saw how wide his eyes were. Her heart raced when he just kept flipping through them, the rustling of the paper making her anxious.

Finally, he stopped. He placed the papers down roughly, staring straight ahead with a blank look. Ran walked around the chair he was sitting on, kneeling down beside him. She placed a gentle hand on his arm, "Shinichi…what is it?"

Slowly, he turned his eyes toward her. He swallowed roughly, "Ran…your father's been trailing the Black Organization."

Her pupils dilated as she recognized the name almost immediately. She remembered him telling her the story not too long ago, "The ones that drugged you and made you Conan?"

He nodded.

"Mind telling me what this is all about?"

The new voice made both Ran and Shinichi turn to the doorway in surprise. Inspector Megure stepped in, a gruff look on his face with his hands behind his back.

_'Oh, great…'_ Shinichi thought before reacting quickly. He gathered up all the papers he found in the safe before grabbing Ran's hand and heading toward the door, trying his best to avoid Megure's eyes.

The older detective didn't stand in his way, "Kudou."

Hearing his real name was enough to stop him in his tracks. He didn't turn toward the man, but lowered his head in shame at being found out. Of all the ways to have his closest guy friend and working partner find out what he's been hiding for years…it had to come out this way.

Megure didn't say any more, leaving Shinichi to believe that the older man simply wanted to test out the facts for himself. Smiling, Shinichi began to pull Ran further out the door, "Gomen nasai. I have a missing person to find."

And with that, the couple left, leaving a straight-faced Megure behind. He soon had to take a seat, however, and scratch his head, "How be damned…"

"Shinichi, where are we going?" Ran asked, seeming to have to pick up her pace every two seconds.

He looked at the papers he was holding, the top one being the one he needed the most, "He has directions that may lead us straight to the Black Organization's headquarters. Or at least, one of them. Hopefully it's the one he's been taken to."

Ran looked down at their entwined hands, still feeling rather baffled by the whole thing, "What else did you find out?"

They walked outside the building, going straight to his car. With him sliding into the drivers seat and her slipping into the passenger side, Shinichi started the car without any words. This upset Ran greatly, "Shinichi, answer me! What else did you--."

"Nothing," he cut her off.

She stopped and stared at him strangely, "Nothing…?" She looked at the pile of papers he set in between them, "You didn't look closely at anything else, did you?"

He simply sighed.

Ran glared at him, "That's not like you to leave something important like this out!"

"I'm not leaving it out," he argued, keeping his eyes glued to the road, "I'm just going to wait until we're almost there to look at it."

Staring at him with her mouth gaped open, she snatched the papers into her own grasp, "Fine. I'll just read them and tell you if I find anything important."

"No!" She gasped when he yelled and swerved the car over to the side of the road. Many cars beside and behind him beeped their annoyance at his sudden movement.

"What the hell are you doing!" She asked loudly, gripping the door handle with her left hand as the other still gripped the papers.

Tearing the papers from her, Shinichi threw them carelessly to the headboard, gripping the steering wheel so tight afterward, his knuckles paled. Gritting his teeth, he rested his forehead against the wheel, finding the cool leather soothing.

Ran stared at him in shock. Never before had she witnessed him losing it like this. It took her only then to notice, but he was making his every move rushed. She could've sworn she just left her dad's office two seconds ago. Why wasn't he thinking things through? He should know more than anyone that it doesn't do any good if an important detail is skipped.

She talked in a low voice, "Shinichi…"

He somehow knew what she was going to say, "Ran, I've waited for years to find the Black Organization again and have them pay for what they did to me. And now that I finally have a solid lead…I'm unsure of how to go about it."

Ran shook her head, wanting to give him words of encouragement. He wouldn't let her.

"These people aren't normal," he continued, his eyes wide as he stared directly at the horn, "You know me, I can always catch the criminal in a short amount of time. But it's been eleven years…eleven years, and I still haven't caught them. You know how inferior that makes me feel?"

She looked away, not sure if she really liked hearing him confess this. She wanted her over confident and cocky detective back. With her voice just as low as before, she whispered her thoughts, "That's not like you, Shinichi. Since when do you let anyone intimidate you?"

He sighed, "When they--."

"No, Shinichi!" she yelled, frustrated tears coming to her eyes, "You're supposed to say 'never'! You _never _let anyone intimidate you!"

Turning his head to stare at her with disbelief, he couldn't help but feel he was letting her down as much as he was letting himself down. She was right…when did he ever let someone get the better of him? He's been waiting for this moment for over a decade! He should be pumped to finally feel close to them!

He lifted his head off the wheel, flashing her a small smile, "You're right, Ran. Let's go someplace to look things over rationally."

She mimicked his smile, "Hai."

* * *

About ten minutes later, they were sitting in a booth side by side. They claimed the corner seat, ordering two drinks from the waitress so they wouldn't get kicked out after awhile. Shinichi began reading immediately. 

"It says here that the Black Organization performed a series of tests on different drugs that were made. APTX-4869, the poison they gave me, was tested the least. After they found out that it didn't kill their victims, they stopped promoting it."

"That means that they might know you're still alive," Ran said.

Shinichi nodded, "Exactly what I was thinking. That means that they might've been looking for me for as many years as I was looking for them. But when they couldn't retrace my name…"

"Look!" Ran suddenly exclaimed, shoving a thin piece of paper into his face. Shinichi took it calmly, trying to ignore the psyched look Ran was throwing him. It wasn't anything formal, it was only Kogorou's sloppy notes that were scattered about the page randomly. A certain thing that was circled three times with question marks around it caught his eye.

It had his name, Kudou, with an arrow pointing to his other name, Edogawa. Near the bottom of the page, Shinichi spotted the name Shiho Miyano. In parenthesis, was the name Sherry.

Ran leaned in toward him, "Does this mean that my dad knew who you really were?"

Shinichi spotted a date in the top left hand corner. Kogorou wrote all this down about four months ago. He raised a brow and mumbled, "I guess this can explain the way he reacted when I told him my true identity."

"Yeah, but didn't you say that Shiho is Ai's real name?" Ran asked, scrunching her eyebrows together as she tried to make sense of it.

He nodded, "Your dad somehow found this out. I'm led to believe that she told him this information herself."

"Why?"

Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head slightly, "I know her. She wouldn't let it slip into the wrong hands…then again, she told your father, didn't she?" He grinned to lighten the mood.

She thought about it before nodding, "Mm, true."

"So anyway, now we just have to figure out why she contacted your dad and told him about me and her. It's possible that she's the one that told him the directions to the headquarters and is the one with him right now."

"But of all people…why him?" Ran asked.

He looked to her, "Maybe because he's your dad."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Ai knew how much we loved each other, Ran. She probably figured I was bound to get more involved in the case if he was someone close to you," Shinichi reasoned.

"So why did she send Megure the letter about him being kidnapped?"

He shrugged, "To lure me in?"

"Yeah, but why not just tell my dad to tell you?"

"Maybe it's not something you simply _tell…" _Shinichi set down the paper and picked up another one. "Let's see if we can find any other clues."

Nodding in agreement, Ran picked up a piece of paper also and began reading closely. Tearing his eyes away from the words for a moment, Shinichi squinted at the brightness outside.

'What are you planning, Ai?'

* * *

:Laughs nervously: I'm back? 

It sure did take long enough, right! Well, I kept my promise and continued it! At first, I was stumped one where to lead this, but once I started typing, I simply went with the flow and hoped it would turn out okay. Although I just started this again, I have a feeling that the end isn't too far around the bend.

I'll try to update again as soon as possible. Maybe next week sometime?

Oh yes, and about the code Shinichi broke at the beginning of this chapter: I know, I know "women" is not a Japanese word. Gimmie a break. It was my weird sense of humor working. Well…review and tell me what ya think!

Enula


	15. In Search of the Antidote

**Over the Years**

**XIV.**

It was late and Shinichi was still up, looking through all the papers Kogorou left behind. It was well past one in the morning and he had just told Ran to get some sleep. She was trying to stay by his side for as long as it took, but her eyes refused.

"Just get some rest. If I figure out anything, I'll wake you and let you know right away," he had assured her so that she would give into her body's needs. She got up and gave him a quick kiss before going to the living room to lie down on the couch.

His eyes were weary and his body felt heavy, but this wouldn't have been the first time he pulled an all nighter. However, having just drove from Tokyo to Miyazaki and then from Miyazaki back to Tokyo had taken its toll on him. He wasn't sure how much longer he would last. The rest of the information he was getting seemed to be only repeating something he had read three pages ago.

His eyes were just about to close when they caught a particular sentence that became his caffeine. In order to keep his mind focused, he mumbled the words aloud:

"_July 3. Patient: Numabuchi Kiichiro. Found hiding by Mt. Fuji where suspected to have killed multiple civilians. Captured and given APTX-4869, thus turning him into a young child. Antidote: PANx-8345, component found in Chinese ginseng root schnapps labeled as ginsenosides. Outcome: Twenty-four hour antidote._

"_August 22. Patient: Numabachi Kiichiro. Poison: APTX-4869. Antidote: PANx-8345-SG, Eleutherocossus Senticosus. Eletherosides present. Outcome: Pending."_

Shinichi's eyes widened. He was no scientist and didn't know a lot of what Ai was saying in her reports, but he assumed the word "pending" meant that her new antidote was still working. The date was October 15, so she came up with the solution almost two months prior.

His heart began beating wildly as he jumped out of his seat, scanning through her report one more time to see if he recognized any words or formulas. Besides what he already read, nothing caught his full interest. He thought about waking Ran up and went to the living room to see her sleeping form still passed out on the couch.

He smiled and silently made his way over to her, kneeling down to be eye level with her. But she looked so…peaceful. He knew it was cliché and, in all reality, probably wasn't even true. She was too worried about her father and what he was trying to find out to get a real sleep. This was just her body being worn out, but her mind was still going at a fast pace.

He blinked a few times, the darkness of the room becoming a gentle caress to his eyes. He held back a large yawn, thinking that crawling behind Ran sounded like a really good idea.

Shinichi stood up, almost ready to do so before he changed his mind at the last second and walked back into the kitchen. The bright light made him wince. He looked at the clock: 1:43 AM. He sat back down at the table.

"Okay," he said quietly to himself, "You found that Ai might have a good lead on an antidote…but where is she located? She had to have left something…"

Flipping through the pages again, his eyes began to scan each word at a rapid pace, trying to pick up on anything that might be the Black Organization's headquarters. Or, at least where Ai was hiding. He remembered she mentioned that they found someone by the name of Kiichiro hiding by Mt. Fuji. So if this guy was actually hiding from The Black Organization, then he would try to get as far away from them as he could.

He pinched between his eyes when his eyes fell on no location. He sighed and threw all the papers over the table, wondering how he was supposed to figure out where Ai was if she didn't even leave a hint.

Shinichi turned sideways in his chair and lowered his elbows to his knees. Ran was counting on him…he couldn't just give up! There had to be something…

He grabbed a random piece of paper from the table and brought it down to his lap to read over whatever happened to be on it. It held some of Ai's formula's and other such rabble that her genius mind seemed to create on a whim. There was, however, something that caught his attention.

He squinted at an eleven digit number that was right in the middle of the page. It had a dash after the first four numbers and…if he wasn't mistaken, it looked like some sort of phone number. Under the number, in neat handwriting that seemed to match nothing else on the page, was the word _"Pandora"._

For some reason…everything seemed so familiar suddenly. He didn't know why, but it seemed as though he lived this moment before…maybe just in a dream. Or maybe it was something Ai said to him a long time ago. He couldn't quite place his odd sense of déjà vu, so he tried to ignore it and flipped open his cell phone.

Carefully, as though the world would end if he pressed in a wrong number, he dialed the number that was written on the paper. He tried to breath in and out slowly to calm his shaking. He never felt this nervous before…not over something like this. Something in him was literally screaming that this was going to mean something big.

He pressed the last digit and held the phone up to his ear. The phone was silent for a whole twenty seconds before it began ringing. The loud noise made him jump, and it seemed to echo through his brain and down to his heart and stomach. He felt like passing out and throwing up. He felt like ripping the skin off his chest and pulling at his hair.

'_What is this feeling?!'_

The phone rang four times. Finally, the phone was answered. Shinichi found himself holding his breath as he waited for a greeting. What was he supposed to say anyway?!

"Word."

That was all the other person said on the other side of the line. It came so fast it was like a flutter in the wind. He couldn't even tell if who said it was a male or female. He suddenly went into detective mode and narrowed his eyebrows. He looked at the paper he still held, pronouncing what he read:

"Pandora."

It sounded like heaven. Like that was the password to get into paradise and beyond. For a brief instant, he felt like he could have been talking to Kami himself, the man above having waited for his call for ten years.

The person didn't answer for a long moment. Shinichi was beginning to wonder if the line dropped.

"I am about to tell you an address."

It was a female's voice. This time he was sure of it. But the voice was cold and disenchanted. It was like what she was saying was of no big concern, and yet it meant everything.

Shinichi grabbed his pen quickly and placed his hand over the paper with the number on it. Usually he would be able to remember every little detail of what was told to him, but with his heart beating in his ears, he wasn't taking any chances this time.

The female quickly read off an address to him, his hand dancing over the paper as he scribbled it down as fast as she was saying it. Her voice defined the end of the address, the tone alone telling him that that was all he needed to know.

"Is this A--" but before he could ask her anything, the line went dead and all he was left with was a big, empty silence. He set his cell phone down and studied the address he wrote, memorizing it just in case something ended up happening to the files.

He wasn't tired anymore. He wanted to rush to this address and know what was there. He was almost positive that it was Ai who was on the line with him. He didn't know any other female that could have that voice…that steel-gun voice…

Standing up from the table again, he went back into the living room to see that Ran hadn't even moved. He promised her that he would wake her up once he found out anything…and this was definitely something! However…he knew that if he told her now, that she would want to go with him. He wasn't sure he was willing to risk her safety over some lead he got within a minute time frame.

No…he just had to go. He had to go without her and hope for the best. He really believed that it was Ai who he called and that she was waiting for him at that address to help him.

He kneeled down beside her again. His smile was gentle and his eyes were extremely calm. He reached up and ran two fingers down the side of her face, feeling the smooth skin of her cheek. He never thought he could ever love someone this much…even when he was half way across the country loving Ran. What he felt then was nothing to this moment.

Ran clenched her eyes shut before slowly opening them, finding that she was staring directly into Shinichi's eyes. She moaned lowly and brought a fist up to her eye to wipe the sleep out, "Shinichi? What time is it?"

"It's almost two," he practically whispered, the expression on his face never changing.

She yawned and stretched, flopping her arms back down afterward, "Did you find anything out?"

Shinichi paused only for a brief moment, "Yeah…I gotta go, Ran."

"Go?" This caught her attention. She sat up quickly, looking down at Shinichi still on his knees, "What do you mean go? Go where?"

Again, his face stayed the same, "I just have to go."

She looked at him strangely, not following what he was trying to say. Though it was dark in the living room, the light that spilled in from the kitchen was enough for her to see the brightness in his eyes…and the serene look in his face. It should've brought a soothing tranquility to her, but instead it sent a shrill of terror through her spine. Why did he look so calm?

"Shinichi…why are you looking at me like that?" She didn't even bother hiding the fear in her voice.

He grabbed both of her hands in his, running his thumb along her ring finger on her left hand, enjoying the texture of her engagement ring, "Because I love you."

"I love you, too, but…" Ran responded immediately but then trailed off, not even sure what to ask him.

This was the most important moment of their lives. She could feel the tension hanging in the air…she could feel his uncertainty and fear, but she couldn't see either of those emotions expressed in his face. She wanted to cry…she could feel the emotions boiling around in her stomach, but they wouldn't make their way to her eyes. Never before had she been so aware of what was not actually there, but what could actually be felt through a mental state.

Shinichi raised himself higher on his knees until he was once again eye level with her. Without hesitating, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. It was so gentle she wondered if it was even happening.

'_Is this whole thing a dream?' _she questioned herself, sure she was seeing Shinichi's face close to hers, _'How am I to know when it doesn't even feel real? Why is he acting like this?'_

"Shinichi…" she breathed out his name as he pulled away, finally seeing a flash of pain through his eyes. When he sat back on his knees again, an unknown force caused her to slip off the couch and sit on the floor with him. He was still holding her hands, and he lifted them up so both of their palms were flush against each others. Ran could only describe it as Shinichi trying to transfer his love and courage into her. He finally intertwined their fingers together and grasped on tightly.

'_Why is the silence so loud…?' _Ran questioned, closing her eyes when Shinichi leaned in and kissed her again. He only lingered on her lips for a moment before moving his lips to her cheek, her eye, her forehead, her nose, back to her lips again…his small kisses were making her shiver at every touch.

He unwrapped their hands, his hands then traveling up her arms before he cupped her face between them, staring in amazement as he watched her kiss each of his palms. His left hand went to the back of her neck and he again leaned forward to kiss the spot in front of her ear.

She gasped lowly and clenched her fingers around his shirt. She never knew a guy could be as gentle as he was being. But…where did it come from? What was his purpose behind it all? Though he was igniting warming flames within her, there was a small voice in the back of her mind telling her to ask questions before it was too late.

"Shinichi…" she whispered his name again, voluntarily tilting her head to the side so he would have easier access, "Where do you have to go…?"

"Shhh…" he hushed in her ear, causing her whole body to shake.

"Iie…Shinichi…I need to know…" her breath kept getting caught in her throat, but she was determined to keep talking, hoping that he would finally answer her.

"Ran," he finally said her name, stopping his light torture to pull back and look at her shining, passionate eyes, "I love you."

She opened her mouth to respond, the reply always waiting on her lips like a bird ready to take flight after having been kept in a bird cage all its life. She wanted to tell him a million times over that she loved him just as much and wanted to be there for him…for whatever he was hiding from her at the moment.

"I've always loved you," he continued before she could say anything, "And I'm sorry it took me so long to finally tell you the truth about everything. And I'm sorry that you had to get mixed up in all of this as soon as things got complicated again. All I wanted was to finally make you happy like you always deserved and find a way to make our lives work together for once. My timing with you was always off, however…and I don't want to make you any more promises if I'm not one-hundred percent certain I can fulfill them. But I want you to know…that everything I ever did was for you. I tried, and I'll keep on trying, to make everything perfect for you. That much I can say."

Tears were finally brimming her eyes, "You're scaring me…"

He wiped away a tear that slipped down her cheek, "Now's the time to be strong, Ran. Don't be afraid; be confident. Don't be sad about not knowing the future; be happy because of right now."

Ran sucked in a choked up breath, "I need you to tell me where you're going."

"You can't come with me." This was his simple response to something bigger that she felt she had no right to question.

"When will you be back?" She began shaking, not sure if she was ready for the answer.

He only smiled again. And that was his answer. He kissed her again and pressed his hand to the back of her head as he lowered her to the soft, carpeted floor. The whole time he loved her, she couldn't even question his full motive. He touched her and kissed her like he might never get to do it again. She accepted all his desires, responding to him as though he were a god coming down to ease her pain and make everything that was evil disappear from her sight.

She wished it would never end, for when it did, he would slip out of her arms and walk into the darkness that she felt was enveloping both of them. She would be left in a life similar to the floor she lay atop of presently…soft, yet cold. How she could describe it in any other way, she wasn't sure.

So when it all happened, when it all actually ended, she could not feel surprise or resentment…only a cold loneliness that clenched at the uncertainty in her heart. She watched him dress in silence, not even bothering to cover any bit of herself. Her heart was as bare as her skin, and she could tell that Shinichi saw it as he turned to go.

If there were any actual words spoken between them, she didn't remember. The words would have went in one ear and out the other, never to do a turnabout for her to try and comprehend.

When she heard the front door open and close, she knew that her lack of words may have been the thing that prevented her from going with Shinichi. Her will to fight had been low from the beginning and she was now wondering "why?" all over again. Grabbing a blanket from the couch, she pulled it down to the floor and wrapped it around her naked body.

'_Please Shinichi…' _she said in her mind, what she wished she would have said to him before he left, _'Come back to me safely…'_


End file.
